


The Most Dangerous Game

by Starryar (Breadmione)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Dark, Blood and Gore, Dark Draco Malfoy, Dark Hermione Granger, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Evil Lucius Malfoy, F/M, Happy Halloween, Obsessive Draco Malfoy, Post-Hogwarts, The Most Dangerous Game, There Can Be Only One, There Can Only Be One Person Who Gets A True HEA
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:08:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 31,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26740399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Breadmione/pseuds/Starryar
Summary: Hermione Granger's life had its downs, like a cheating boyfriend & a damaged relationship with both parents, but it also had its ups, like a successful career & a boss who handed out holiday like it was candy. She couldn't say she was happy, but she couldn't say she was unhappy, despite the death threats she had recently been getting for working on Muggle cases. What she could say though, was that it was bordering mundane. Being an Auror should have been exciting, but she had nearly everything down to a science: Kill him, detain her, fill out the paperwork and repeat.Draco Malfoy was harboring several secrets, all having to do with the Golden Girl herself. She was the white noise, buzzing constantly in his head. She was the air he wanted to breath & she was the woman he wanted to marry. His only issue was that he could barely talk to her, even after ensuring he was hired by the Ministry to be close to her.And Lucius Malfoy? He was sick of it. He hated seeing what his son was, and how he felt towards Hermione himself. It was unnatural, so he did what any rich, dark wizard with an island at his disposal would do & took matters into his own hands.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy, Reference to past Ron / Hermione
Comments: 79
Kudos: 107





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Halloween is one of my favorite holidays and this year I thought I would celebrate by posting a dark fic. This is a Crossover fic between Harry Potter and short story 'The Most Dangerous Game' by Richard Connell. This fic will have Harry Potter characters only (with the exception of one OC), but the plot is based off of the short story. This is a pre-written fic that is a total of 5 chapters and will be updated every Saturday starting October 10th.
> 
> T/W: THIS FIC WILL NOT HAVE A TRADITIONAL HEA. DARK THEMES WILL BE PRESENT (No r*pe or sexual assault, but there is mention of an abortion) At the top of every chapter, I will be adding trigger warnings. If you choose not to read these, or you decide to proceed anyway, you have done so at your own risk.
> 
> Shout out to PrincessJuliaOfHeart, Mimifreed, and my friend Jarred for helping me out with this fic. I love each and every one of you.

__

_"Life is for the strong, to be lived by the strong, and, if needs be, taken by the strong. The weak of the world were put here to give the strong pleasure. I am strong. Why should I not use my gift? If I wish to hunt, why should I not?_

\- General Zaroff, The Most Dangerous Game.

* * *

Richard Connell was what every stand up citizen should be. He lived a mundane life with a wife and two daughters at home, where he worked a nine to five office job, five days a week to pay off his mortgage. He never got into any trouble or broke so much as a traffic law, which is why he was wondering what he did to deserve being in this situation.

A situation where he was running for his life from two blonde haired men, undoubtedly related, but that was a detail he knew was neither here nor there.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck." Richard stopped running seeing he had reached a fork in the jungle. He glanced back and forth panting, not sure what route to take as he never made such a serious decision in his life before. He was out of breath due to sprinting from where he had made camp, but his breathing quickened as he glanced between the two paths. He could almost imagine a neon light over each path; one flashing the word life while the other flashed death. His problem was that he had no idea which path said which.

He heard a rustle behind him and glanced back to see what looked like a black boot appearing from the wilderness he just came from. He went to church every Sunday without question ever since he was a boy, but the past day and a half had him crying, repenting, and questioning his god. The dark velvet cloaks the pale men wore had him convinced that they were a part of a cult, and that Richard's god had abandoned him on this godforsaken island.

A fallen tree trunk next to him exploded and he yelped as he ran faster through the vegetation. He could hear them arguing behind him now and he didn't see how he was going to get out alive. He admitted to himself then the only times he had been able to escape the men were due to them becoming bored and giving up on chasing him.

But tonight, they were not in the best of moods, especially the older man. "I swear Draco, you act like you don't even want to do this anymore."

There was a crackling sound and when Richard tried to glance behind him, he fell after feeling a sharp pain in his ankle. "Ah!" Bloody fucking-

"That's because - Ugh. Father, he hurt himself again." Richard climbed back up on to his good foot, his will to live mixed in with his adrenaline propelling him forward, despite the pain. A small voice in the back of his mind wondered how the younger man knew he had tripped over his own feet the day before, but he refused to let himself be distracted again. Richard was just grateful that he woke up fully healed from the sprained ankle - No matter how odd it was that he was able to heal so fast. Richard ran and stumbled over the branches around him, thinking about how he had to hide instead of run, and found a clearing that revealed he was at the bottom of a cliff.

He knew at the top of the cliff was the mansion where he had dined with the other survivors. The owners were Lucius and Draco- they never gave a surname. A fresh wave of hate and panic washed through him at the memory. They faked hospitality only to release the ten survivors into the night for what they dubbed as The Most Dangerous Game. Richard was one of the few who gave a nervous laugh when they were informed of what they were to do, Lucius' words sounded completely ludicrous. If only he would have taken the long haired aristocrat seriously, he would have tried to kill him then and there with his steak knife - At least that's what he wanted to believe he would do.

Not long after half-hobbling and half-running, he saw a fissure in the cliff that looked like someone of his healthy size could fit in to. Taking the gamble, he squeezed himself inside of it, praying once again for help at being concealed. When his chest would no longer allow him to go further into the cave, he slowly turned to look back the opening of the rock he was sandwiched in, cutting his nose as he did so with how hard it pressed into the jagged edges.

He screamed and immediately went into hysterics when he saw Lucius face pressed into the rock's opening, grinning so widely the devil himself would have been been confused on if he should be charmed or intimidated. "PLEASE, NO!" He begged shamelessly. "I HAVE TWO GIRLS - PLEASE!"

"Draco, come look! He's stuck!" Lucius moved out of the way to reveal Draco who barely spared Richard a glance as he looked into the igneous rock's opening. For lack of a better word, Draco looked bored with his hands shoved into his pockets, as if he was looking at a sleeping dog in an exhibit rather than a muggle begging for his life.

"PLEASE DON'T LET HIM KILL ME, I'LL GIVE YOU ANYTHING YOU WANT!" Richard gave out a yell as he felt snot start to run from his nose and into his mouth.

"As if anyone of your kind could give anything I couldn't give my son." The dismissal of his words scared Richard to the point where he felt like he couldn't breathe from the panic attack starting in his chest. I'm going to die. He started to wriggle further into the fissure, giving into the need to get away from his captors.

"Father, can we go kill him so we can go back now?"

Lucius turned to look at Draco, with a frustrated look. "Why? So you return to your mudblood shrine?"

Anger flashed through Draco, but he did his best to keep his cool. "It's not a shrine, it's my office."

"An office that I have to pry you away from because you're bloody glued to it. An office where stolen, candid photographs of her litter your desk because you're obs-"

"I'm not obsessed!" Draco yelled.

Lucius let out a gust of air before throwing his arms up in the air, laughing as he turned back to the cliff's opening. "An imprisoned wife and a delusional son who is consumed with daydreams of a mudblood. That is what the famous Harry Potter has given me!" By the end of his small outburst Lucius was yelling into the rock, looking for Richard. "Look here, Draco! It seems he wasn't trapped after all and had managed to squeeze himself further in!"

"Joy." Draco muttered under his breath as he checked his pocket watch. He was tired of people telling him he had an obsession. Draco was just grateful for Hermione speaking on the Malfoy's behave and he knew his father hated feeling in debt to her. She was the one who came to them while all three Malfoy's were on house arrest, waiting for their trials, offering to help them by acting as a witness on their behalf. However, it was Narcissa Malfoy who took the help one step further, and confessed to all crimes Draco and his father had done under Voldemort's rule so it was ensured they would walk free. Hermione's act wasn't what caused Draco to become enamored with her, but it did magnify it. Especially after he was crucioed for days when Voldemort realized Draco helped her, Harry and Ron escape Malfoy Manor.

"Well, I suppose this bit of rock is unsightly. Stand back, Draco." Draco took several steps back and his father joined him, lifting his wand in the air with practiced grace. Mobilipetram." With a groan that nothing but the earth could make, the two slabs of the cliff came together, completely closing off the entry way. "That should do it. What is the final score again?" Lucius grinned as he readjusted his tie with a small smile on his face. Harry Potter may have gotten rid of Voldemort, but the thirst of a true Death Eater would always succeed their masters.

"Seven to three." Draco tried to suppress the drawl in his voice. He knew if hid father heard any weariness or cheek in his tone, Lucius would have him stay even longer. Since Lucius was the true owner of the island, Draco would need his permission to leave.

"Very good, your old man's still got it." There was a pause before he continued with a dissatisfied voice. "I suppose I can see how you get bored here. Muggles are boring when you know every inch of the land they are running on."

Draco couldn't fight off the yawn he gave and waved a hand as an acknowledgment to his error. "Perhaps you should go for something bigger. Like class XXXX or class XXXXX creatures."

"Perhaps," Lucius repeated, entertaining the idea until his dark grey eyes had a light spark within them. "Or another wizard." Lucius looked at Draco suddenly and gave his son an appraising look. "Come. Let's get you home to your... Office."

Draco was tense as his father clasped a firm arm around his shoulders, not at all liking the greedy look in his father's eye and the slick tone that promised nothing good would come from the ideas Lucius had in his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lucius' theme in this fic would be Run Rabbit Run by Flanagan & Allen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mxib93uyd4  
> 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Mentions of slightly abusive relationship, depressive thoughts, mild alcohol abuse mention, abortion mention.
> 
> A/N: I decided to move my update schedule to start this week rather than next week. I hope y'all don't mind :)

_"One superstitious sailor can taint the whole ship's company with his fear."_

_"Maybe. But sometimes I think sailors have an extra sense that tells them when they are in danger. Sometimes I think evil is a tangible thing-with wave lengths, just as sound and light have. An evil place can, so to speak, broadcast vibrations of evil."_

\- A conversation between Rainsford and Whitney, _The Most Dangerous Game_.

* * *

** THREE MONTHS LATER  
**

"You've spoiled your mother and I with those magical tents you know."

Hermione smiled into the receiver of her cell phone. Her dad always insisted she call him when she got home, even if she had only disapparated from their house to her flat only thirty seconds ago. "Well, I wouldn't be worth my wand if I couldn't provide you some comfort." He chuckled, and she could hear their telé already on in the background. "I'm home, I'm safe, and you need to stop worrying and resume your retirement. I'll talk to you another time."

"Whatever you say, boss." This time she heard her mother join in the laughter they all shared. "Make sure your door is locked before you go to bed."

Hermione didn't bother to explain to her parents that locks only did so much against other wizards and that her main defense was wards. "Of course... I love you." She tried.

There was only a second's hesitation, but she knew it was a hesitation that would not have been there before the war. When he replied, it was in a more soft, but less cheerful tone. "Love you too, Sweetheart." _Click_.

Hermione looked at the phone even after the line was disconnected. After the second war ended four years ago, she had been spending as much time as she could with her parents to get back in their good graces. Several years later, and she still wasn't enough. They understood, but were scared. Scared of _her_ after obliviating them mostly, but also scared she would land herself in another life or death situation again. Hermione's dad had been much more open than her mother, but her heart still ached for things to go back to how they were before Voldemort tried to rise again. The camping trip at Bagdells had been her idea and she was elated when they agreed to it as she hoped it would remind them of the positive memories they shared.

She threw the phone on to the couch, where it bounced and accidentally hit Crookshanks who hissed at her in retaliation. "Sorry, Crooks." When Hermione bent over to pet him was when she heard it: a footfall in her flat when she was supposed to be the only occupant. The adrenaline hit her veins and before she could have full visual on who she was hexing, the intruder was on the floor.

She wasn't sorry to see that it was Ronald Weasley who was laying rigid on the ground from her full body-bind curse. "You're not bloody serious, Ron. You know you can't sneak up on me like that! What if it was a _bombarda_ I decided to cast?" His blue eyes fell on her and he could only make sounds due to his jaw and tongue being locked up. She crossed her arms and looked down at him, seriously considering leaving him like that. She hadn't seen him in a month. At first, it was because she had turned him down every time he tried to contact her after Hermione found him in _their_ bed with another woman.

Then, true to his nature, he gave up when he realized it would take a lot more than a few owls to get her back. Hermione had sent him off to the burrow with all of his things when she kicked him out, so she had no clue why he was in her flat now. "I ought to call an auror, you know." Ron's eyes widened at that, and she felt the rush from his fear that she had been waiting for. With a flick of her wrist, she silently released the curse. Threatening his career as a Quidditch player was fun she decided, and made a note to continue to do it if he kept pestering her. "Now what are you doing in _my_ flat?"

Ron sat up, but didn't get to his feet yet. He angrily brushed off Crookshanks' cat hair before looking up at her. "My name is still on the lease. I can get past the wards if I need to."

Hermione rolled her eyes. _Now_ was when Ron decided he wanted to use his head. She didn't think he would have realized that by not taking his name off the lease, he still had access to her home. In their entire relationship, she had been the one to make all of the moves as he often saved his brilliant streaks of strategic ability for the field. Hermione crossed her arms, wondering again if it was worth touching her savings to pay for his name to be removed from the paperwork, but decided for the hundredth time that it wasn't. She had a month and a half left before the lease ended. It would be better to save several hundred pounds to wait. "Legalities aside, why are you here, Weasley?"

Ron's piercing gaze had her shake in her boots for a second. She was livid to the point that she _could_ hurt him, but there was a part of her that still loved him. Or rather, she realized as she looked back on their relationship, she loved the idea of him. "'Weasley, is it?" He got up and she finally processed his outfit: Dark jeans and a silk, button down shirt that she had bought him for one Christmas. He never wore it, despite how many times she asked him to so they would match on their date nights, and it hurt to see him look as good as she had imagined he would if he had bothered to put it on. "You didn't pack this shirt for me when you kicked me out and I needed it."

"I didn't even think you would remember its existence. Date or another club night?" Her voice shook with rage on all ends of the spectrum and her wand crackled with as sparks started to appear. Ron didn't say anything as a guilty look flitted across his face and he took a step back. "Get the fuck out." The sentence was ground out through her teeth. When he didn't move, her anger nearly doubled and she raised her wand. "NOOWWW!" Crookshanks jumped off the couch and ran scrambled to hide underneath it at the sound of Hermione's command ringing through the flat. Ron stumbled back, but was able to disapparate from her home before the _bombarda_ she cast could hit him. Hermione took several deep breaths where she stood. There was plaster everywhere and after a few seconds, a pipe burst spewing water all over the ground.

Killing was something she did during the war and something she had to do occasionally as an Auror. She never had a problem with the act itself. Hermione knew it was easy to do, and the fact that she was so _nonchalant_ about the fragility of a life she took, was what had bothered her. Even now, she wasn't shaking because she could have killed Ron, it was the fact that her boss and best friend- Harry Potter himself- was going to be _livid_ when he found out she lost control and nearly killed Ron.

 _Ginny did always say her brother brought out the worst in me._ She gave a mirthless laugh that was soon joined in by the sound of her phone ringing. She looked down and saw 'GINNY POTTER' in large, blocky letters. "Shit." She thought about letting it go to voicemail, but knew Harry would just floo to her place if she didn't answer his wife's phone call. Hermione thought him seeing the damage to the wall with his own eyes would be much worse than him just hearing what had happened from Ron - no matter how much Ron exaggerated the story to him.

She pressed the soft gray button that had a green picture of a phone, before holding the Nokia call phone to her ear. "Auror Granger speak-"

"Hermione." Harry's tone was clipped and in the background she heard Ginny and Ron having a screaming match. _I should have known it was really him calling._ "What happened?"

Hermione bit the inside of her cheek. "Do you mean what happened with Ron a few minutes ago?" Not thinking straight, she used what Harry called her 'innocent voice' that was translated to 'guilty and she knows it' in his eyes. Confirming this, she heard him inhale deeply through his nose. An indication that he was trying to calm himself down. Crookshanks had scrambled out from under the couch and on to her lap, hissing at the water that was now pooling from the broken pipe into the living room.

"SHIT!" Hermione dropped her phone and stood to cast a hasty _repairo_ on the pipe and then a _skurge_ spell to clear up the water. She hoped the floor would not be damaged when she cast the _scourgify_ charm later. She heard her name faintly being called and picked up her phone from the couch. "Sorry, Harry."

"Don't scare us like that!" This time it was Ginny's voice.

"Gin? Where's-" But her fireplace had turned as green as Harry's eyes as he emerged from her fireplace. "Nevermind. I'll talk to you later." She grumbled before disconnecting the line. Being chastised by Harry would be enough for her with out Ginny getting involved. Her read-headed friend had a way of getting to her like no one else could and she was sure it would quickly become more than what she could handle.

"What happened?" Harry asked again looking around. Spotting the bits of plaster coming from the hallway, he looked around the corner and into the corridor where Ron had disapparated from. "'Mione..." Hermione rubbed her face with both of her hands. This was the last thing she wanted to deal with after coming back from her camping trip on a work-free weekend Harry forced on her. He had worried about her, saying she was spreading herself too thin with work. She disagreed, but she had little to say when he managed her shifts.

She made the decision to mince her words, in an attempt to avoid a serious lecture from Harry. Hermione knew Harry would take her word over Ron's as Harry had gotten into trouble believing Ron's exaggerations several times before. "Wea- Ron didn't tell me that he was coming by today and snuck up on me with my back turned."

Harry gave her an exasperated look. "What about your wards?!" The fact that Harry didn't realize what Ron already had, made her already hurt pride worse since it showed how much she underestimated her ex-boyfriend.

"Ron's name is still on the flat, he can come in at anytime." Harry's mouth opened to ask something, but it wasn't hard to guess what the next question would be. "I don't want to touch my savings to take it off if I'm leaving in less than two months." Harry gave her a pitying look, and she looked away as she continued, pointing to the hallway. She hated the look of pity that everyone gave her. _Ron was such a catch_ , people had said to her, thinking they were being empathetic when they barely scratched the surface of sympathetic. _We thought you would be married and live happily ever after_! The younger girls would say - the same girls who would then wonder if they would have a chance with the Chudley Canons player. She hated the look of pity so much, that she brought Harry's attention back to the hole in the off-white wall so he could yell at her. "He apparated away before the _bombarda_ hit him."

He gave a deep and annoyed sigh. "You need time off. You've been too stressed out over everything already and now Ron-"

"I'm fine, you just forced me to have three days off."

"And I'm giving you more." He stomped over to where she was on the couch and sat next to her, trying for a more gentle approach. It didn't work on Hermione, she had always been able to spot his telltale signs of anger; pulsing vein over the left temple, lips gently pressed together, and his pupils would shrink just a smidgen. "Hermione, you're one of my best Aurors. I made you my lead muggle Auror for a reason, but these cases have been stressing you out." Harry looked to the side in an almost guilty manner and Hermione tensed up, thinking that he was going to demote her. Her heart rate picked up as she thought about the families of the ten missing cruise ship passengers from three months ago, along with the vow she made to find out what happened to them. "Remember when those two buildings in New York were hit by that plane last September?"

"Yes, the World-Trade Center buildings." Hermione wiped her sweaty palms on to her beige shorts. _Please don't demote me, please don't demote me, please don't-_ "I don't see what that has to do with me."

"I read an article where the rescue dogs were getting discouraged to the point they could not continue when they went hours without finding someone who needed saving. They were stressed to the point it made them ineffective, unless the rescue team went into the rubble and pretended to be a survivor which of course had slowed the search down." He looked at her then, his sharp eyes boring into her. "Don't become the dogs, Hermione. We need you on this team, but you need to take care of yourself. Especially with the threats you've been getting- I don't want you to be another Mad-Eye Moody, as brilliant as he was."

Hermione took another deep breath. The threats were something she couldn't really argue against. She wanted to believe they were from kids, just acting on a dare. "They're not serious threats,." Even to her ears, the statement sounded weak. She should have caught _kids_ by now.

"Come on, 'Mione." He bumped his leg against hers and gave her a smile. "Remember fourth year when you got bourbus puss all over your hands from the hate mail Rita Skeeter's fans sent you when she wrote you were 'two-timing' me? And we weren't even dating!" Hermione couldn't help, but smile at that. " _Adults_ sent you harmful things over a _rumor_! This bloke is sending you hate for being a successful Muggleborn _working_ on muggle cases. The blood purist hate did not all die with Voldemort. These threats aren't made to be taken lightly," Harry leaned forward, almost comically to get her to meet his gaze when she tried to look away. "And I know you're not."

Hermione looked at him, completely defeated and tired. "You're right."

He stood. "Of course I am. I wouldn't be your boss if I wasn't." She made to give a playful kick at his leg, but he jumped out of the way in time. "I'll check back in three weeks to see how you're doing."

"Three weeks? Harry, what are you on about?" Hermione pushed Crookshanks off her lap and stood. "I am to be in the office tomorrow, Monday. Are _you_ going on holiday and just decided to spring this on me?"

Harry laughed, but it wasn't genuine. "No, but you are."

"Three - Harry, _the cases_! That's much too long!" Hermione was ready to go on her knees if she thought pleading would help, but Harry seldom made a decision that he was willing to go back on.

"We have a whole team that you trained personally. I'm sure they'll do fine, I'll even check in with them often to offer any help I can." Harry started towards the fireplace, but Hermione ran in front of him, blocking the exit.

"Harry, no, that's far too long! I won't know what to do, I need to be able to work -"

He looked at her, brows high and eyes wide behind his wide glasses. "This is exactly what I'm talking about!" Her dark haired friend threw his hands in the air, completely exasperated with her. "You won't need to _do_ anything. Do you know how absurd you sound? 'Harry, no! You can't give me three weeks of paid holiday! I don't know what to do! I've read all the books in my home five times now and every hobby I have ever started, I got bored of because I excelled at it- Ow!"

She punched him in the arm so hard, he actually rubbed it in an attempt to help with the pain. "I don't sound like that."

Hermione didn't appreciate the shrilly tone he adopted when he mocked her, but her reaction only made him sneer. "Sure."

"One week."

"Three, this is not up for debate."

"One. Week."

"Three weeks holiday or three weeks suspension."

Hermione felt anger build in her stomach again, but it paled in comparison for what she had felt for Ron. "That's not fair. I can take you to Wizard Resources for that - I've done nothing wrong."

"And tell them that you don't want the holiday I'm giving you? Please, don't make this harder than it already is Hermione." He motioned with his thumb to the hallway beside him. "'You've done nothing wrong'? We'll see who 'Resources sides with if I ask the 'Weasley is our King' Keeper to make a statement on what happened tonight."

Hermione felt hot tears building in her eyes. When she placed her hands on her hips and didn't say anything , he knew he had won. Harry reached behind her to grab some floo powder before brushing past her. She didn't turn around as she heard the sandy scraping sound of the green powder hitting the hearth before the roar of the magical flames. "12 GRIMMAULD PLACE."

Hermione stomped her foot and grabbed her hair that she had kept in a neat bun, pulling it out of place by the handfuls. "AAAUUUUGGGGGHHHH!" If she was being completely honest with herself, she _had_ been more jumpy than usual lately. She was having nightmares ranging from Dolohov hexing her in the Ministry of Magic, to the Basilisk at Hogwarts, to failed field missions and Bellatrix carving 'Mudblood in her arm. Hermione felt like she faced a double-edged sword that was going to slice into her anyway. She silently feared that she was going to go mad with stress after the threats started last month, but now she knew she would go mad with boredom.

Crookshanks yowled and she looked down at the cat who was had popped his head out from the bottom of the couch, before bursting into tears.

* * *

"Fucking hell!" Hermione screamed at the hole in the wall that she was sitting in front of. Her wand was in her right hand while there was a bottle of fire whiskey in her left. She was playing music so loud that she knew she was going to have a noise complaint tomorrow. The voice of reason in her head that reminded her that she would have a complaint tomorrow was also the same voice that said doing magic while drunk was not the best idea, but reason had been drowned with the 375 ml bottle of Firewhiskey she had. That was before she found a 750 ml bottle in what used to be Ron's side of the closet. _Because it's okay for_ him _to have a downward spiral, but heaven forbid I'm anything less than 'little miss perfect.'_

Hermione hadn't been in their room for a month, not since she had packed all of his things for him. Tonight though, she had been so upset she found another silk shirt that she gifted him, but he had never worn, and put it on. She purposefully kept some of the things she bought for him, thinking if he wasn't going to make use of it, she would. When she found that it still smelt like the store she bought it from, she grew even more bitter and nearly kicked the hole she was working on repairing.

Hermione thought to message several people to see if they would drink with her, but decided against it. She wanted to invite Ginny, but not only was she going to try and talk Hermione out of her decisions tonight, she would have been a too obvious reminder of Ron. Luna was on a trip in god-knows-where with Neville, Dean and Seamus were on their honeymoon and everyone else she had listed in her contacts who she was friendly enough with, were either Draco Malfoy or the subordinates on her team. Draco worked at the Ministry with her, but in another department and she could hardly call him a friend - Just an acquaintance. _A cute acquaintance_ , she admitted, _but an acquaintance_. Due to this, she decided a one woman pity-party was going to have to be enough for the night.

"'Look at me, I'm boy-wonder.'" She guided her wand across the bottom of the hole where the wrong pieces of drywall flew up to cover the space. "You cant take me to HR-' WR- Whatever. Stupid name. WIZARDS ARE HUMAN, TOO! JUST CALL IT HR, bloody cunts!" Hermione leaned forward and snorted from laughing too hard. She chastised Ron when he would say the word as she found it to be extremely vulgar, but now it was just funny.

Hermione continued her drunken ramblings like this until the drywall was _technically_ back in place. The wall where the _bombarda_ had hit was extremely lumpy and her voice of reason came back to whisper that it was going to be double the work to fix tomorrow. Hermione responded to it by taking another drink from the warm liquor bottle. She had drank so much that it stopped burning her throat and chest.

Now that she had nothing to preoccupy her mind, she started to cry as everything hit her at once. Hermione loved Ron at first, gave him everything she had and yet he still took her for granted. She waited for him after Hogwarts until he said he was ready for them to be together- which was understandable. He lost a brother and he didn't know what he wanted to do next - other than confronting his problems with a bottle in his hand. When they dated, that stemmed from him drinking, but as she cleaned him up, the source of their problems came from him forgetting their dates to hang out with his team or him flirting with other women. _Flirting_. She found herself daft to ever think it went anything past that. Hermione took another drink from the bottle and winced as the memory of coming home early that day replayed in her mind.

The worst of it was not when she walked in on them. It was the sound of the bed frame hitting the wall that made her whip out her wand, thinking someone was in her home as the anonymous threats had just started coming in that same week. No, the worst of it was when she reached the very same part of the hallway she was sitting in and logic caught up with her adrenaline, and she realized that there were female moans coming from _her_ bedroom in time with the rhythmic slamming of the headboard. The most unforgivable part however, was when she had her hand on the door knob, ready to burst into the room when she heard him talk about how he wanted to impregnate the other woman when their last argument was about the child she was bearing. He had screamed at her that she needed to pick the child, or him.

And she chose him.

Only for her to walk in on him saying things in another's ear two weeks later. She had still been cramping and bleeding from the abortion. "Would it have been that bad if I would have killed him?" She murmured to herself. She twirled her wand while she stared at it with bleary eyes, re-imagining that scene ending with a unique green light coming from the end of her wand. _An unforgivable for an unforgivable?_

No! She pressed the bottle to her head and groaned. Hermione always had dark thoughts in her head and she hated herself it, she know it was wrong, despite it being a big part of her success. Thinking like a villain is what got her, Harry and Ron the information they needed at Hogwarts, it stopped Rita Skeeter from making a fool out of Harry and it helped her crack the hardest cases. It was too easy to slip into a sinister mindset, but she secretly worried that it would one day cost her everything if she didn't stop herself from thinking so dark. It was the driving factor behind her wanting to do good in the war - She had to prove not just to the world, but to herself that she was still good. Still golden.

_BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!_

Hermione leaned over to look into the living room and ended up falling on to her side. _I'm absolutely pissed_. She left out a soft laugh, but stopped herself after a few seconds, trying to remember what it felt like to be serious. _Someone is at the door and I need to get up._ Hermione rolled on to her stomach before holding herself up on all fours. Knowing she was completely obliterated, Hermione used the wall as leverage to get up, much like a toddler would when they were learning how to take their first steps.

On her way to the front door, she decided to grab her phone that was still on the couch. She looked at the wall she was still leaning on, to the couch, then back again before deciding she would aim for the couch's arm to hold her up. She counted to three before throwing herself forward and was relieved when she made it without falling. She threw a hand in the air while leaning on the couch with the other. "Woo!" Crookshanks, who had watched the whole ordeal, was once again not amused. He gave a disapproving meow before trotting off to her bedroom - one that he was now allowed in, since Ron wasn't there to kick him out. He never fully warmed up to Crookshanks, even after the Pettigrew ordeal. "Sorry, I'm shit, Crookshanns!" She could hear she was slurring, but ignored it as she checked her phone that she noticed was on ten percent battery life.

She pouted when she saw the lack of text messages and calls but it would have been weird if she _did_ have any notifications. Hermione stuck the phone in the back pocket of her shorts and carefully gripped her bookshelf to get closer to the front door. _Who would be here at 11:07 PM?_ Hermione had finally reached the door and looked out the peephole to see an agitated Lucius Malfoy, raising his fist to knock again. She had seen him off and on since the trials where she vouched for his family, but his personality seemed to do a 180 degree turn around. Hermione tried to quickly unbolt the door, but she only ended up re-locking some of the locks, before she was able to successfully throw it open before his fist could hit the door again.

"You know you're in muggle London?" She leaned against the door frame and hiccuped. "Izz sumthin' the matter? I'm on holiday if there is."

Lucius stared at his son's favorite obsession in mildly disguised disgust. Hermione's hair was a complete mess- something he had not seen since her adolescence and she wore a cheap, wrinkled men's silk shirt that went down mid-thigh. _No doubt belonging to Weasley._ "You're drunk." He was unsure if he was heard over the music, but he wasn't going to raise his voice for anyone, especially not a Mudblood.

He didn't say it as a question, but in her state, she grinned and nodded. _At least she fixed her teeth._ "Aye, sir. Properly fecked as Seamus would say." She laughed at her own joke before sweeping a hand inside her home. "Would you care for a drink yerself? Oh, the music -" Leaving the door wide open, she hurriedly stumbled back into the living room where he heard something fall to the floor before the music stopped. " _Shite_." Lucius didn't think he was supposed to hear the expletive, but she was inebriated to the point that he didn't think he would need to obliviate her if he needed to.

Lucius grinned before stepping into the threshold of her flat. The wards accepted him at once as her invitation for him to enter was already given. "Why of course. Thank you, Hermione." If she hadn't been wasted, he had no doubt she would have noticed the black and gray box he had planned to leave on her welcome mat as a distraction before he kidnapped her.

The same box he had been sending the threats to her in for the last five weeks.

He vanished the box before closing her door as he no longer needed the diversion before getting to the meat of his plan. Lucius watched as she stumbled into the hallway to pick up the bottle she was drinking from off the floor. _You almost ruined everything, girl, but for once you made things too easy for me._ When she made to walk past him to get to the kitchen to serve him a glass, he placed the chloroform soaked handkerchief over her mouth and nose. Lucius was more than aware of who her friends were and had came to the conclusion he needed to make this look like a muggle kidnapping.

Hermione immediately started to kick and throw her elbows back at Lucius, but the alcohol made her blows too soft to do anything but annoy him. "Stop fighting me!" There was the sound of something falling to the ground and breaking, but he didn't pay it any mind. _Why is she not_ \- "AAAGGGGHHH!"

Crookshanks had jumped on Lucius' thigh, digging his claws in. Hermione grabbed the handle of her oven to stop her from falling to the floor and almost fell anyway when it opened, but she managed to lean on to the kitchen counter without falling. _Fuck, this is not happening_! Crookshanks gave Hermione the perfect opportunity to pull her wand out for him, but when she reached for the holster on her forearm it was empty. Even though her alcohol induced haze, she felt her stomach drop to her feet. She vaguely remembered deciding to leave her wand on the hallway floor so she could easily pick up her phone on the way to the door. _Fuck_.

Hermione glanced at Lucius who had just backhanded Crookshanks off of his thigh. She grabbed the handle of the first knife her fingers closed around in her drawer and took a step forward to run past him, but the chloroform and alcohol mix made her even more unsteady than just the Firewhiskey had alone. Her body felt heavy and she was scared she could feel her body wanting to give out, but she fought the effects as best as she could. Lucius was now approaching her and she swung the boning knife in front of her. It was partially in warning for him to back off, and partially to test how well Hermione was able to wield it. _If I can just stab him on my way past him..._ Her head tilted to the side as the world spun around her and she sunk to her knees.

Lucius sneered as he watched Hermione try to right herself again. He could see her eyes darting around as she attempted to formulate an escape plan. She would need to jump over the oven door, her kitchen was so ridiculously narrow with the dining room table she had squeezed into it. He found the situation laughable, but the fact she was a fighter excited him. _She's perfect_. When he was practically on top of her, she lifted the knife once more before trying to get away, but he wrenched it from her hand as if he was taking a candy from a baby.

Her last thought before his fist slammed into the front of her jaw, effectively knocking her out like he originally intended with the chloroform, was how she was beyond exhausted of the shit storm that was her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hermione's theme for this fic would be Where the Watermelons Rot by Madelynne Whitt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnXZLA44u5Y


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Job is pronounced Jobe.
> 
> T/W: Physical Abuse

_You're a big-game hunter, not a philosopher. Who cares how a jaguar feels?"_

_"Perhaps the jaguar does," observed Whitney._

_"Bah! They've no understanding."_

_"Even so, I rather think they understand one thing-fear. The fear of pain and the fear of death."_

_"Nonsense," laughed Rainsford. "This hot weather is making you soft, Whitney. Be a realist. The world is made up of two classes-the hunters and the huntees."_

\- A Conversation between Rainsford and Whitney, The Most Dangerous Game.

* * *

**ONE WEEK LATER**

Draco slowly stripped as he raked his eyes over Hermione Granger's body. He told himself he needed to stop doing this, but he couldn't help it.

His father would skin him alive if he ever found out his son was at a brothel - Not to mention that the same son was sneaking around Hermione's desk at odd hours after second and third shift at the Ministry. Draco found it was the best time to steal stray hairs off of her desk to brew a poly juice potion for the prostitute he rented for an hour once a month. He felt it would be the closest thing he would ever have to Hermione shivering and quaking at his touch, so he continued to do it.

Rather quickly, Draco became a regular at the whore house. He was aware it was risky for anyone of his reputation to be seen at such a questionable place, but having his Hermione fantasies fulfilled was too big of a temptation to resist. Soon, the brothel started to reserve his favorite girl for him every time he made a reservation under a pseudonym. Tonight, she wore a lingerie set that she knew he would like. It was all lace, from the bra to the garter and left nothing to the imagination. The prostitute disguised as Hermione blushed as Draco parted her legs, revealing that there was hair where Hermione usually kept it clean shaven. His eyes went wide as he wondered - and even dared to hope - that something happened between her and the Weasel.

The working girl tensed in fear seeing his reaction. Most wizards who came to the brothel didn't like hair on their women and it wasn't out of place for her to be beat for something that was an innocent mistake , or in the case of polyjuice, out of her control. "S-Sorry, she hasn't-"

"I know, it's not your fault." This was true, Polyjuice copied a person down to the last cell in their body when brewed properly. There is a reason why it is supposed to be heavily monitored by the Ministry, but he was not too concerned about his higher ups questioning why he bought the materials for it often. In the event he ever got caught and a scandal broke out, the government was a lot more lenient with punishing their vital workers.

Draco looked the sex worker in the eye and brought her hips closer to him. He rubbed lube over his already stiff cock before putting the call girl on her side and slowly sliding in to her. He let a shudder run through him at the feel of Hermione's walls close around his. After the woman had gotten used to the feeling of him inside of her, he placed her leg on his shoulder and slid even lower as he slammed his pelvis into hers when he picked up the pace. Soon, she was moaning, and hearing Hermione's breathy voice of pleasure was music to his ears.

"Say my name, Granger."

"Draco, oh fuck, Draco!" He picked up the pace and the whore continued with the obscenities. It bothered him as the image he had for Hermione in his mind, didn't curse that often.

He put her on her back and ripped the front of the lace bra open so he could leave bite marks on her breasts. _Hermione Granger's breasts_. After reinserting himself, he nibbled up to her ear. "Don't curse so much, love." He pulled back to look into Hermione's soft brown eyes and moaned as he fucked her. His lips found a way down her neck and he couldn't help himself anymore, giving into the emotional parts of his daily reveries. "Tell me you love me."

"I love you."

Draco started to pick up the pace once more, never lifting his head back up. The fantasy captivated him and he tried not to think about how this wasn't actually Hermione, and that it was a stranger who he had paid for. "Promise?"

"Aaahh, Draco, yes! I promise!"

"Fuck, Granger-"

He wasn't expecting the prostitute to grab his face and make him look at Hermione's flushed, heart shaped face. "Call me, Hermione."

It was words he had been dying to hear her say, and for a few seconds he forgot that he wasn't actually having sex with Hermione. He hated himself for never having the courage to make decent conversation with her at work, but having the whore ask him to call her by Hermione's first name was something Draco thought about often in his office. It was his number two day dream. The first was to hear her say she loved him.

It wasn't a surprise when he nearly came on the spot, thinking that this was worth every galleon he had spent, and every risk he took sneaking into Hermione's office at the Ministry.

When the hour was done, Draco heard a knock on the door, signaling that he had five minutes to get out. He looked at the witch who had been laying on his chest and saw the blonde returning to her hair, and the mess of curls she had straighten as if made of pins. Draco was not too gentle when he quickly pulled away and started to get dressed again. The call girl said nothing as she straightened herself out until he pointed his wand at her.

"Do you have to do this every time?" The green eyes that stared up at him held several feelings - Concern, fear, anger - but nothing he cared about. He took a risk every time he came here and needed to cover his tracks as best as he could.

His eyes did narrow at what she said. "You shouldn't remember me doing this before. _Stupefy_." The spell caused the woman to fall back on to the silk sheets of the bed she sat on. With how she collapsed, her chest open to reveal the rising and falling of her bare breasts along with one leg draping off the bed, it almost looked like she was dead. " _Memoriae_." Slowly, the woman's memories floated into the air above her temple, allowing him to rewrite their current encounter with his wand. Draco never obliviated her. He only changed the details of what she remembered as it would raise suspicions to her bosses and coworkers if she had gaps in his memory - Not to mention overuse of the spell would damage her mind and then he would _really_ be in trouble.

While Draco was sifting through her memory for a session he had forgotten to edit, there was another knock on the door signaling that he had one minute to exit the room. He cursed quietly as he sifted faster, as he started to internally count to sixty. He looked faster and faster until he finally found it - It was an earlier memory where she was watching herself change from Hermione back to herself in the mirror, but then she saw Draco behind her with his wand raised to her head. Draco first started to modify the image of himself standing behind her, before he tried to change who she was Polyjuiced to look like -

"Oi! Time is up mate, don't make us go in there!" The lock jiggled on the door and Draco cursed again. He would need another minute to finish the edit he was making, but there was no time - He had to wait until next month. The lock jiggled harder as Draco stepped away from the witch after letting her memories fall into place and casting a charm over himself. Draco refused to take anything like Polyjuice lest he did not time the potion right or he didn't have time to let the changes take place - like now - but what he did use was a variation of the disillusionment charm. It allowed him to be seen by others, but they could not recall his face nor describe what he looked like to others.

Finally, one of the two large bodyguards had cast _Alohamora_ , flinging the door open. Draco was just straightening out his blazer in the wall's mirror when one of the wizards grabbed his arm, forcefully turning him around. "What the bloody hell happened-"

What the burly man hadn't expected was for Draco to stick his wand into the man's neck, not giving the wizard time to raise his own. "My clothes have enough filth on them without you touching me, thank you." Draco's lips were pulled back in his snarl and his gray eyes held nothing but loathing.

"He didn't mean anything by it." The other man said as he approached them after checking on the prostitute. He kept both hands raised to show he did not brandish a wand. "She's just sleeping, Anton. Apologize for touching our guest." The second man stared down his friend with an intense look. Draco could almost feel the conversation between them; Anton didn't want to apologize, but the other bodyguard knew that Draco was a valued returning customer.

Anton didn't have much of a choice. "My apologies, sir. I had been mistaken." Draco leered at the guard in front him once more before removing his wand. Anton took a step back and glanced at the woman who was now fast asleep on the bed, Her unconsciousness was a sign that Draco's invasive spell had worn her out and her brain was reprocessing her memories.

"I'll be taking my leave, gentlemen. Good day." Draco gave one last look at Anton before leaving.

As soon as he stepped outside into the muggy London air and had walked down a deserted alleyway for him to safely disapparate from, Draco saw a figure so white it shined blue race up to him. Draco rolled his eyes and walked through his father's snow leopard patronus, not wanting to be bothered. "Draco, I need you to visit me on the island."

"Fuck off, old man." He only said this as he knew his father would be unable to hear him. While Draco was more knowledgeable and skilled than the average wizard, Lucius was not just experienced, but he hardly regarded any boundaries on how far he would go to torture, maim, or kill anyone who disrespected him.

"This is regarding your mother. I expect to hear from you soon."

Draco turned to look back at the patronus at the mention of Narcissa, but it had already disappeared. Draco ran a hand through his platinum blonde hair. All he wanted to do was be alone with his thoughts of Hermione. He always made sure his weekend was free after the Friday nights he would visit the brothel so he could enjoy replaying the memories over again in his pensive, but if his father said it was regarding his mother...

It had to be urgent and his weekend would need to wait. Narcissa Malfoy was supposed to be released from Azkaban in the next week and if something had happened -

Draco immediately dissaparated to his family's manor. After the fall of Voldemort, Lucius had disconnected it from the Minitry's floo system and somehow had it hardwired it the island. Draco never asked questions on how his father managed it or who needed to be paid off, but what he did know was that it was one of two ways of getting there. The only other way was to side apparate with Lucius.

When Draco arrived to the mansion on the island, the island's house elf greeted him. "Good evening, young master."

"Good evening, Job." After he read a hard copy of Hermione's thesis paper on house elves rights when she first started to work for the Ministry, he made a conscious effort to start treating house elves with more respect like she suggested. She was intelligent beyond her years in his mind, and if given the chance, he would happily worship her at her feet. "Where is my father?"

"The master is in the dining room, sir-"

Draco walked from the living room into the dining room without letting Job remove his jacket, searching for his father. He found him eating dinner, with the last person he would ever expect:

Hermione Jean Granger.

Draco stood there as he stared at the brown irises he had been pining after for three years now. His heart dropped to his feet then lodged in his throat while it pounded faster than what he thought was humanely possible. His hands started to sweat and his tongue stilled in his mouth.

Hermione simply stared back at him and gave a small, bashful smile - Something he only ever saw her give to Ron.

"Draco! I think that's the fastest you've ever gotten here. Please sit." Lucius was already seated at the head of the large table. He gestured to the empty chair to his right that was set across from Hermione, while he held of a glass of Brandy in his other hand. Draco sat, but never took his eyes off of Hermione. _Am I hallucinating? She can't be here, she can't-_ "It's rude to stare, I raised you better than that."

Out of the habit of hearing the sharpness in his father's voice, Draco quickly gave his father his undivided attention, leaving several seconds to pass before he processed what was just said. She's real - He sees her too. "Father, what is Granger doing here?"

"What a question - are you not delighted to see your little crush at the table with me? I was just discussing the events we had ahead this weekend." Draco nearly let his jaw drop to the table, but he showed restraint as he looked over his father, taking note of the mischievous glint in the older man's grey eyes along with one corner of Lucius' lip turned upwards in humor fueled delight. _Something isn't right._

Draco looked back at Hermione who was still staring at him in a flirtatious manner. She waved her fingers once more and his stomach turned as his eyes narrowed at her - Then he finally saw it: a ripple on the glamour that had been cast over her. In one swift movement, Draco brandished his wand and cast his spell. " _Finite Incantatem_!"

To his horror, Hermione was _still_ sitting at the table on his father's god-forsaken island.

To his _immense_ horror though, Hermione was bound and gagged with a Malfoy handkerchief. She had the silencing spell cast on her so her crying could not be heard while she was under the glamour, but his spell had released her from that, too.

She knew her screams would be distorted by the cloth Lucius has stuffed into her mouth, but she tried to speak anyway. "Draco, please help me!" Hermione told herself she would not fall apart like this, like she had refused to fall apart at Malfoy Manor during the Horcrux hunt until Bella started to torture her, but she had been trapped in a dungeon for the past week. She broke days ago. Draco was the first person she had seen other than Lucius and she was more than willing to beg for freedom. "PLE-EE-ASE!" She sobbed.

As soon as Draco jumped to his feet to release her, Lucius disarmed him, keeping his wand trained to his son's chest. "Draco. Sit down."

"NO!" It was the only word Hermione was able to get out before Lucius silenced her once more.

Draco refused his father's orders as he raised a hand to motion to her. "What are you doing? Father, look at her-"

Lucius stood hearing the tone of voice his son dared to use on him. Draco may have gotten some of his height from him and Narcissa, but Lucius still had several inches on Draco. "I don't know who you _think_ you're talking to, but you won't like it if I have to remind you. Sit. Down. _Now_."

Draco was spoiled, not stupid. He slowly sank into his seat and looked at Hermione from across the table, hoping his eyes communicated his apology. She looked terrible; her hair, which was usually half tamed into a bun or ponytail, was so knotted that he was sure a part of it had formed a dread lock. Her skin was red and there were veins popping out of her head from how forceful her silent screams were. He wanted nothing more than to free her and be her knight in shining armor, but he had no clue how to do so without his father stopping him - or worse, imprisoning them both. Torturing them both. Possibly even murdering them both. Draco was more than aware that Lucius was a force to be reckoned with, he just couldn't pin point _how_ terrible that force was.

"Job." The house elf apparated into the luxurious dining room with a _crack_. "Our food."

The house elf snapped his fingers and their food appeared on the table in front of them like it did in the dining hall of Hogwarts. "Is there anything else Master desir-"

"No. Leave us." Lucius took a sip of his Brandy while the house elf disapparated. "Well. I wanted to reveal..." Lucius looked at Hermione for a moment before waving a hand to gesture at her state. " _That_ , after I spoke to you about what I had planned for the weekend." Draco didn't tear his eyes away from Hermione, completely caught up in how helpless he felt at the moment and how much he hated to see her like this. It brought him back to the night where he lied for her, Harry and Ron at the manor. "Draco look at me when I am talking to you."

"Father, please-"

Lucius banged his free fist on the table before he grabbed Draco by his collar to snarl into his face. "Do I need to tie and gag you, too? Every time I need to talk to you, you start acting like a prat! I am sick of it, Draco. Sick of it." Lucius shoved Draco away from him and downed the rest of his brandy. "Now, I'm going to talk, and you, are going to listen."

Draco spared Hermione a glance to see she herself had stopped crying, but she was still breathing hard as the only orifice she was able to breathe through was her nose. He didn't miss the way the nostrils of her freckled nose flared before contracting, and he found it to be absolutely adorable, despite the circumstance.

"Draco," Lucius started with half of a warning in his voice. Draco's slate gray eyes flicked over to his father, and saw that Lucius' Glencairn glass was being refilled by a charmed bottle that floated in mid-air. Draco didn't take his eyes off of his father this time, more than aware that Lucius was testing his son to ensure Draco's attention would remain on him. When the glass was full, Lucius took a sip before speaking. "All I ever do is try to be a good father to you. I feel as if I am always the one to put in all the effort into our relationship -" Hermione tried to free her hand from being restrained to the arm of the chair and Lucius turned to her with not just hate in his eyes, but a back hand cocked back, ready to strike her. Draco knew better than to intervene, and was going to let it happen until she pointed to her mouth as spit dribbled from her chin onto her lap, her body rolling in a sickly manner as she retched. Draco practically threw half over the table to remove the cloth from her mouth, allowing her to vomit right on to her lap. "Ugh, Merlin." Lucius rolled his eyes as Draco took back his wand from where Lucius placed it on the table, and vanished the vomit away. Draco then held up his glass of water to her lips for her to drink from.

Hermione was hesitant at first as she eyed Draco carefully, unsure if she should accept his kindness, but then he gave her a meaningful look before quickly looking at Lucius, then back at her. Hermione didn't know what it meant, but it gave her hope that he seemed to be on her side.

Lucius watched the interaction in silence. It would have been sweet if he didn't find her existence to be so sickening. "You really care for her, don't you, Draco?"

Draco looked at his father and considered not answering him, as the truth was obvious, but he did want Hermione to be freed. It wouldn't help anyone if he purposefully pissed Lucius off. "She's rather brilliant, father. Whatever you have planned, I think it's best if we let her go-"

"I think you'll like what I have planned better than just releasing her." Lucius looked at Hermione, as if appraising her. "You, Miss Granger? Not so much." He paused to take another drink. "God makes some men poets, some He makes kings, some beggars. Me? He made me a hunter, Miss Granger." Hermione's head pressed into the chair, her mind going wild with what he meant as Lucius locked eyes with his son. "And a gambler."

Draco's eyes narrowed at his father's broad grin. "You want to bet on her life?"

"Something like that." Draco dared a glance at Hermione who was fighting through sobs to break the silencing charm that was placed on her. "Before you object, here me out. You can imagine what would happen if I were to find Miss Granger first. I would kill her, that way I would no longer have to worry about your obsession getting in the way of finding a proper pureblood wife to bring a grandson into this world." Lucius' words gave Hermione pause as she processed what the Malfoy patriarch was saying. "I may even take the liberty of skull fucking her in spite of the strife you have put me through these last few years -"

"And if I find her first? She walks?" Draco felt the heat of his anger creeping up his neck and turning his skin red. "Is that what you want? For me to finally be engaged in your stupid gam-"

"You forget yourself, Draco, and I will not remind you again." This time it was Lucius who gave Hermione the meaningful look. His message was clear: Respect me or I'll take it out on her. "If you find her and capture her first, then you both leave this island as newly-weds and I will never make a single complaint about her pedigree again."

Draco was caught off guard at the title, but he couldn't say his interest was not piqued. "Newly-weds?"

"Absolutely. We could perform the ritual here. It only takes one person to bind you and one person to witness it. Nothing says that the person doing the binding and the witnessing can't be the same person. Your mother will be displeased that she was not present, but... Well, I'd rather not keep your betrothed here longer than needed. A quick consummation of marriage afterwards, and you're off.

 _Betrothed_. The word bounced around Draco's consciousness like a volleyball. _Hermione Malfoy. Hermione Jacqueline Malfoy. She would be mine. Weasley wouldn't be able to touch her if she was magically bound to me as my wife._ He looked up at her tear streaked, pink face to see her mouthing his last name - No, their last name if he won. Draco smiled at her and his head tilted to the side. "You can call me by my first name... Hermione." He was giddy with the rush that came with the ability to call her by her first name in front of her. Hermione looked as if she was going to puke again before she shook her head 'no.' _Oh, she doesn't understand how good she would have it._

"So, you won't refuse me then?" Lucius sipped his Brandy slowly, knowing his son would be agreeing to the hunt. Finally, something exciting.

"She's everything I ever wanted." Draco's voice sounded far away as he thought about the woman of his affections finally being his; Hermione looking at him in the same manner he looked at her, Hermione calling out his name when they consummated their marriage - Hermione bearing the Malfoy heir. _Hermione, Hermione, Hermione._ Her name was like a mantra to him over the past few years, a constant buzzing in his head and a constant throb in his loins.

"Then tomorrow the game will start. The first one to kill or capture her wins." Lucius started to cut his steak into squares and Draco did the same, only because he planned on feeding Hermione, who he now considered his fiancée, some of his food. "Oh, and I haven't told you the best part! She too, will keep her wand."

Hermione's head snapped in Lucius' direction at that. The flicker of hope that had been doused in Draco was now completely reignited in herself, almost as if a phoenix was being reborn from its ashes. She narrowed her eyes at Lucius, putting all of the hate she had in her glare. _When I get my hands on my wand you bastard, I will enjoy killing you._

* * *

Just like the Malfoy Manor in Wiltshire, England, the large manor on the island had a dungeon. Hermione knew there was at least one other occupant, but they had been unable to even look at each other, let alone communicate as they were both silenced when put into their cells. She was having a difficult time sleeping, like she did most days since she had been brought here. The one night she could say she had a full night of rest was when she had been up nearly three days straight, and eventually gave in to her exhaustion when she felt secure enough that Lucius was not coming down for her. In fact, dinner was the first time she had seen Lucius since he kidnapped her.

Hermione was just starting to nod off when she started to hear the shuffling of footsteps in the dungeon's hall. She tucked herself deeper into the corner between the toilet and the cell wall. There was a designated sleeping area, but not only was it extremely uncomfortable with the half inch 'mattress' that was on it, but she felt like it was too out in the open. Hermione heard a groan when the person reached the end of the hall. She knew it was either Lucius or Draco, and she still had not figured out who was the lesser of two evils. Lucius had been nothing but abusive to her when she was in his presence and having recently learned about Draco's fixation at dinner... Well, uncomfortable was an understatement for how she was feeling. _It can't be morning yet. I'm sure Lucius would have sent the house elf, anyway._

Hermione poked her head out to see if she could catch view of who was in the dungeon. When the wand light flashed into her cell again, she squinted and was able to faintly make out the shape of short blonde hair from the dim light. Draco, spotting her profile and shadow behind the ceramic, stepped closer to the bars, placing a hand gently on to one of the bars. "Hey." He wasn't fazed when she didn't respond. Instead, he dropped to one knee and pulled the duffel bag he had with him off of his shoulder. "I brought you some things. It'll make your survival easier." Hermione felt her ears perk up at that. _He... Wants to help? But... Maybe, just maybe..._ She slowly crept forward on her hands and knees. She was only wearing the silk shirt, camping shorts and socks in the damp, underground cell, and she wished she had any extra fabric for warmth.

When Hermione was only a meter away from him, he squeezed half of the medium sized duffel through the bars to coax her closer to him. Upon closer inspection, Hermione saw that it was only roughly the size of her gym bag, but she knew looks could be deceiving. _It could have had an extension charm._ She didn't need her rigorous Auror training or experience to know that she probably shouldn't take what he was offering, but she had a plan.

Hermione shook as she approached him, and she stopped when she was only a foot away from him. He lifted the back of the bag as she pulled it forward. When she unzipped it, and saw him raise his wand to provide her more light. The first thing she pulled out was a map and her mouth parted realizing how useful it could be if it was legitimate. "I wasn't able to find your wand, but perhaps that might be for the better. Father only hunts at night, but he will send the house elf to release you before we start. I don't know all the secrets of the island, but I know he has placed creatures on it so you will need to be careful." Looking through it, she found clothes, water and shoes. "Moccasins. They leave less of a trail. I have a plan, by the way. I included a blueprint of our residence, if you sneak back in, I'll be able to say I won -" Hermione looked up at Draco and swallowed before tapping her neck in a silent plea to release the silencing charm. "Right, right, _Finite_."

"Malfoy," Hermione winced at how loud her voice sounded, already not used to using it.

"Please, Hermione. I meant it when I said you could call me 'Draco.'" Looking at him now under the wand light, she could see he resembled a love sick puppy. She never knew how she missed it before. She had been mistaken to think that the kind face he had now was due to being humbled by the war.

It was infatuation.

"Draco," She said it softly, testing the waters. He gave her a hesitant smile, as he looked her up and down. He almost looked as if he were beside himself with joy and it frightened her.

"You look terrible, love." His eyes looked her down all the way to her socks. "When we're married, I swear, you'll be treated better than you ever had before - I'll even carry you to every part of the house if you don't want to walk."

"Draco, please don't say such things." Hermione's bottom lip wobbled with fear. _He isn't sane._ "If you're going to talk about us, we should do this the right way." She paused to gauge his reaction, but it was as if all his emotions had been placed on pause, making him unreadable. "Take me out on a date. Win my love. Get to know each other -"

Draco shook his head and leaned his head on the bar, as if he found her conversation amusing. "Why would we do that when we can skip to the 'happily ever after', you muggles are so found of?" He gave a small laugh. "I can start reading some muggle fairy tales, that way by the time I have you pregnant with our son, I'll be well versed in muggle and wizard story tellings." He waited to hear praise, when he didn't get it, he continued. "I thought you might appreciate that."

Hermione resisted the urge to cross her legs at the mention of her carrying his kid. She was learning her situation was worse than she thought and needed to switch tactics. She was keenly aware of where he rested his wand on the bar above her head, but she needed him to be much more distracted if her reasoning did not work. "I - I do, but what will my parents think? After I disappear only to come back married?" Draco frowned. "They would be hurt. They would have wanted to meet you, and - and be there for the wedding -"

"My mother isn't going to be there," His repudiation was thinly laced with annoyance, that was more aimed at his lack of witnesses of the wedding than her. "It wouldn't be fair if they were present and she was not. I only care about you, Hermione. Their approval is not needed, nor is it required for us to be together." He gave her a dopey grin and a tear fell down her cheek. Her nerves getting to her, and she was cracking. Hermione didn't do field work unless absolutely needed - She was more of a Special Ops type of person: go in, do what was needed, and get out. Draco reached out to her cheek to wipe it away. "Why are you talking about such piddling things, love? Honestly, you won't ever have to work again, or leave our home at all. Father says if I win, then the Island and everything on it will be mine -"

Hermione nearly broke hearing that he was contemplating entrapping her in an even bigger cage, but her survival instincts had been put into full affect after dinner. "What if Lucius finds me first?" She leaned into his hand before leaning closer to him. "He'll kill me-"

"Shhh, calm yourself. There's a tracking charm placed on your shoes. Don't worry, I will find you first if you're too scared to sneak into my room. The hunt starts at sundown and-"

"There's a tracking charm? Did you place it on anything else?" Alarm flashed on Hermione's face, but she resisted breaking character. "That's brilliant, I mean."

Draco's pale face darkened slightly with the faint blush rising to his cheeks. "It was... You flatter me, really." It was whispered, almost as if he was in complete disbelief at Hermione's compliment. He grabbed the cell bar that his face was leaning against. She could tell his pupils were fully blown as he stared at her. "Tell me you love me, Hermione."

She wanted to scream. _He's not going to let me go._ "How about... You kiss me." He didn't move and she was unsure if he heard her desperate whisper. "Draco, kis-"

Without hesitation, he used his free hand to grip the back of her head by her curls to pull her into a passionate kiss. With how her body was positioned, it placed her in a slightly awkward position due to her being leaned so far forward. His lips were soft and feverish as they moved against hers. When he slowed down for a brief second to slip his tongue into her mouth, she didn't object and allowed him to deepen their snog. He gave a whimper and she took it as her cue to start moving her hand towards his fist that was still clutching the wand over their heads. Hermione moved slowly and opened one eye, trying not to strain too much, in the event it tipped him off to what she was trying to do.

She had been too eager though and her fingernail nicked one of Draco's knuckles before she was ready to yank the wand from his grasp.

Her fingers enclosed around the tapered part of the wand, but it was too late. He still had the upper hand and was able to snatch it out of her weak hold as he pulled her away from him with the hand that was lodged in her hair. Hermione crawled forward and pressed her face between the cool, rolled steel bars. "Mal- I mean, fuck! Draco-"

" _Silencio_!" Hermione banged her fist against the metal as she tried to scream at him, but it was no use. She was silenced once again. "Father may be right." Draco's voice was filled with anger and hurt from what she had tried to pull. "You don't love me." He spat the truth at her just as he had spat 'mudblood' at her when they were still attending Hogwarts. "But you will. You'll see. I'll treat you better than anyone ever had before and you will love me."

Draco spun on his heel, his shoulders tensed as he stalked off. Hermione watched him the entire way. When he didn't turn around at all to look back at her, she knew that Draco Malfoy would no longer be of any help.

She crawled back into the space between the wall and the toilet, this time, with the duffel with her. _I have to get out of here. I have to get out of here. Crying will do nothing! Stop crying!_ Hermione took a deep breath and held it for as long as she could.

As she tried to stop her sobs from continuing, her head became more clear. _As soon as I am brought upstairs, I'm going to run_. She tried to study the map, but it was two dark for her to even see her hands in front of her. _I will get out of this._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ended up posting this one early, cause why not.
> 
> A/N: The next update will be on 10/10/20 for sure though.
> 
> Draco's theme song in this fic would be I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire by the Ink Spots: watch?v=TmIwm5RElRs


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Combats or Combat Trousers are Cargo pants.
> 
> Fringe are Bangs.
> 
> TW: Animal Abuse, Graphic depictions of Violence.

_The Cossack was the cat; he was the mouse. Then it was that Rainsford knew the full meaning of terror. "I will not lose my nerve. I will not."_

\- Rainsford, _The Most Dangerous Game_.

* * *

**SATURDAY**

Ron bounced on his heels as he waited for the lift to stop at Basement Level 2: Auror Headquarters. He fought the urge to send his patronus ahead of him. Last time he did, Harry and roughly twelve other Aurors met him at the lift, ready to hear what his 'emergency' was so they could assist. He hadn't known that Harry had a meeting that morning, nor did he think that asking his friend what they were eating for lunch _wasn't_ an emergency. Harry banned him from sending anything ahead of time, and all messages had to be sent via owl or text.

But _this_ was an emergency and not one he could send over text.

When the lift finally stopped at the desired floor, he quickly opened the gate before he speed off to Harry's office. He wanted to sprint, but the lecture he received from Harry last time about creating a panic was enough to keep him speed walking.

"Good game last week, Mr. Weasley!"

"Saving the Canons and Britain once again!

"Could I get an autograph-"

The perk about being Ronald Bilibus Weasley was that no one questioned why he was on the Auror level without being escorted by a Ministry official. The drawback about being Ronald Bilibus Weasley was that everyone tried to stop him for non-safety related reasons. Usually he loved the attention from being a celebrity, but with a one tracked mind today, he barely thought to wave or spare a polite smile to his admirers.

When he finally got to Harry's door, he knocked. He could barely see through the smoke frosted glass that Harry was in there with someone else, but Ron's knocking only intensified the longer Harry ignored him.

"One moment!" Harry's voice floated through the wood and glass door.

"'One moment' he bloody says." Ron was bouncing on his heels. As soon as Harry even cracked open the door, Ron threw himself inside and slammed the door behind him.

"Ron!"

"Seriously?" Ginny spun around to look at her brother, an intense glare framed by her fringe. Ron hadn't expected his little sister to be there, and it only made him more anxious knowing he needed to subdue how he really felt for her sake. "Harry sees you more than I see him, can you shove off for a day?"

Ron almost reacted, but instead he turned back to Harry with a whisper. "Harry, I think Hermione is in trouble. I hadn't heard from her all week -"

"Good, I sent her on holiday and I am happy to hear she is making the most of it." Harry opened the door without taking his eyes off of Ron.

Ron knew Harry was trying to keep a calm composure, but that didn't stop him from slapping the door closed. "I'm not kidding! I went to the flat today-" Harry pinched the bridge of his nose, and he could hear Ginny huff. They both told Ron he needed to stay away form Hermione before he found a way to make things worse than what they already were. "And instead I find Crookshanks' bowl completely empty, with Crookshanks still in the apartment!"

"Her cat? - "Harry inhaled sharply through his nose before placing his palms together. At first, Ron thought that Harry was going to argue, but then he spoke after giving a defeated sigh. _That is_ very _out of character for Hermione_. "How empty was the bowl?"

"Completely empty. Hermione had bought him a shallow bowl so his whiskers wouldn't get in the way while he eats. He was so hungry that he approached me."

"Ron, I will check on her later, just please -" Harry reached for the door again, but Ron reached into his pocket and pulled out the phone Hermione had gifted him several years ago. Deciding he needed to use this last resort, he pulled up the call logs showing William Granger had called him. Hermione's father never liked Ron and the last time they interacted, William pledged to take out his knee caps. Granted, when he called this time, William wasn't too nice with asking about his daughters whereabouts.

"I didn't want to pull this out in front of Gin, cause - You know." He nodded his head towards his sister who was pregnant with their second child. "You know he hates me. He called me because _he_ hasn't heard from her in a week. He said he even stopped by her apartment and there was no answer."

Harry didn't need to hear anything else. "Gin, have you heard from Hermione in the past week?" Ginny shook her head at Harry's question, catching on that something may have been seriously wrong.

Harry ran a hand through his hair. Hermione would have never gone without feeding Crookshanks and she sure as hell would not be avoiding her father. He was more than aware how strained their relationship was and Hermione always did what she could to stay on their good side. "Ginny, I'm sorry, but I need to go." Ginny was already packing up her food to floo back to Grimmauld Place.

"What can I do?" Ron stood with his arms hanging in the air.

"Ah," Harry knew he couldn't tell Ron to do _nothing_. Ron was either going to have Harry's permission to do some snooping or he was going to do it himself - Possibly messing with the investigation. Harry's best bet was to keep an eye on his friend, literally. "Come with me. I'll get a warrant to search her apartment. Check the wards and try to find out what exactly had happened." Ginny let herself out, with Harry and Ron following close behind. After a chaste peck on Harry's lips, Ginny headed towards the lift while Harry and Ron made their way deeper into the Level two corridors.

"Harry? What if we can't find her?"

"Not plausible. Anyone who has ever worked for the Ministry has had their wand's signature copied and imprinted so we can track them in the event we can only find little to no clues."

"No, Harry. What if we _can't_ track her?"

Harry didn't stop walking as he threw a look over at his red-headed friend. "Then, I'll have every Auror searching for her by dinner time."

* * *

The first thing Hermione did when she was dropped off at mid-day on the moor between Lucius' house and the forest was test her wand. As soon as the elf dropped it in to her waiting palm before disapparating, she noticed the vibration of it was _weird._ Every morning since she was eleven her wand seemed to purr like a kitten until its core synced to the vibration of her own core. Today, her wand did not do that. Instead it felt like the rumbling her dad's 1964 Chevy Bel Air when it was being cold started and showed no sign of stopping or trying to match with her. For the first time since she had acquired her wand, Hermione felt a disconnect from it, almost as if it was just a tool. It was a feeling that made her stomach coil in the worst way.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no!" Hermione dropped to her knees and pulled out the Moccasins Draco gifted her with last night. _If this was just a cruel joke made by Lucius and I can't use my wand - I'm bloody done for!_ " _Finite_ _Incantatem_!" The wand responded well enough that she knew the spell had been lifted off the shoes, almost as if there was no disruption in the flow of magic, but she knew better. Her wand acted almost as if it was hers no longer. Throwing a glance over her shoulder, she looked back at the manor to make sure no one was in fact coming for her before hastily putting the shoes on over her socks and running into the woods.

Hermione ran as far as she could before she felt a stitch in her side. Satisfied she could no longer the looming island home that would ensure death if she did not pull out on top, she stopped to look through the contents of her bag again. _A t-shirt, beige combats, a map with a blueprint of their home, two gallons of water, but no food._ Hermione's fingers curled into the grass and soil beneath her. _Bastard probably doesn't think I'll go long without him capturing me._ Hermione glanced between the contents. She was hesitant to cast _Finite_ on it, in the event that they had been transfigured from something else and she couldn't transfigure it back with her tampered wand.

Hermione let out a violent hiss of air between her teeth before she ripped several blades of grass out of the ground. Holding them firmly between her fingers, and closing her eyes, she imagined turning the blades into a goblet. _One of the simple ones that were at Hogwarts_. Having gone to school there for seven years, it was still easy for her to imagine as she whispered the basic incantation for inanimate objects. She didn't dare attempt her hand at word-less magic as she was unsure when her wand may become unpredictable. _The stem would be firm, not at all hallow, as they used genuine bronze goblets. The cup would have been a perfect circle in its circumference and the bottom of it would be slightly frosted if it was filled with pumpkin juice -_ Hermione nearly lost her train of thought at the excitement of feeling the grass shift. She only let herself lose it entirely when she felt what should have been the stem of the goblet become too thick and _wiggle_ in her grasp.

Opening her eyes, Hermione saw a boa constrictor bearing its small, hooked teeth at her, bracing itself to strike. "AAHHH!" She dropped the snake from her grasp and tried to scoot away from it, but the snake followed. " _Bombarda_!" Nothing happened. " _Duro_." Still nothing. " _Diffendo. Imperio. Avada Kedavra._ Fuck. _Sectumsempra!_ " The snake flipped onto its side with a hiss, but it was still alive. That's _the spell he chose to let me use?_ Even in her panic, she was still able to reason:

" _I would kill her, that way I would no longer have to worry about your obsession getting in the way of finding a proper pureblood wife to bring a grandson into this world." Lucius' words gave Hermione pause as she processed what the Malfoy patriarch was saying. "I may even take the liberty of skull fucking her in spite of the strife you have put me through these last few years-"_

Another wave of sick realization hit Hermione then. Lucius was not just playing a game. He meant to punish her _and_ his son before he got the results he desired. Hermione thought she would be sick and throw up the food Lucius had the courtesy of feeding her this morning before Job released her, until she saw movement again in the corner of her eye. The boa was still alive and coming for her a second time. Rage filled her once more and this time, she didn't bother with her wand.

Hermione got to her feet and leapt to the side before clutching the two foot long serpent by it's tail. With ease she aimed at the tree nearest to her and whipped it, allowing all of its guts, entrails, and entire skeleton to splat against the tree trunk. It was crude, but she decided if she was going to lose, it wouldn't be due to a snake. She stared at the tree, allowing herself to slip into that mindset that had saved her arse so much over the years. _If I was Lucius, where would I look first on my island_?

Hermione's eyes fell on to the map. She thought the first thing she should do, is find a place that was safe, or a place the Malfoy men wouldn't look first as she tried to hatch a plan for her survival. However, before she could lift the parchment to her face for a closer look, her attention was brought to the sound of angry buzzing. The volume of the bombinating sound increased as she looked around, but the source of it seemed to elude her until she spun on her heel to look at the tree that had some of the snake chunks sliding down it's bark.

A horde of Bowtruckles were now swarming the tree, checking for any damage that might have been done to their home. _Shit._ Knowing they were like the hornets of the wizarding world, in one swoop, Hermione grabbed the clothes and water that were on the ground, threw it into the bag and ran in a zig-zag to avoid the planks of wood the Bowtruckles aimed at her. With every dodge she made, she barely missed being hit with the magicked wood that was known to paralyze their prey's limbs allowing the twig and bark animated creatures to gouge their eyes out.

Hermione counted to sixty several times in her head as she found herself no longer in a clearing, but in the woods again. _They shouldn't follow me too far in, they don't often stray far from their homes_. Hermione dared a glance behind her to see she had been right. She let her head fall back to look up at the woodland covering the sky above her. _Fuck._ She had been gone from her home for eight days now. Did Harry not start looking for her yet? Did he not _care_ to look for her? _No, stop that, it was Ron you broke up with, Harry would look for ma._ Hermione pressed both fits to her forehead as she fought back tears, wand still clutched in her right hand. _Why hasn't he tracked my wand - Would he even still be able to?_

Hermione jumped at the sound of hearing a chime. Adrenaline coursed through her veins and out of habit she put her wand out in front of her. When she heard it again, it sunk into her that it wasn't anything a creature could make. It was too technological.

It was her phone.

Hermione nearly ripped apart the bag searching for it until she felt her hand close around it's small, brick-like shape through the fabric of a side pocket. She opened it up and nearly cried as she held it in front of her. _I'm saved!_

* * *

Draco looked out to the wood where he knew he would find Hermione in. _My fiancée_ , he reminded himself, _I have to get used to calling her by her proper title now._

"I've never seen you so happy, Draco." His father drawled. Lucius didn't need to share his son's mental instability to know how his mind worked, he had seen that same deranged look in his former Death Eater allies many times before. "It'll be a shame to see you so upset after I remind you of a very hard lesson on building your home in someone who is lesser than."

Draco's smile didn't waver at Lucius' drawl, but he did look back at his father. "You'll come to like her very much I feel. You'll overlook her blood status just as I had." The house was seated on a hill that dropped down into the moor before blending into a forest. Being this high up though, Draco was able to see past the normal redwood and pine trees to see the mangroves of a swamp over the left. To the right, he could catch the glimpse of a rocky lake, not too dissimilar to the black lake at Hogwarts, but it held no giant squid. Draco frowned remembering this detail, wishing he had the foresight to add the list of creatures Hermione may have the chance of encountering before he could find her. He told her to be careful, but felt he should have been more explicit in his instruction.

"Do not presume what I will and will not do." When Lucius looked up from the primping and preening of his finest Death Eater robes - He had been stewing over the day he would snuff the light out of Hermione for three months, so he made sure he would dress his best for this day - To see his son staring at him, with a look in his eye that made it seem he had something up his sleeve. Lucius sneered. "Don't look at me like you've placed a tracking charm on her now. Job told me you gave her some tools to work with last night." Draco tried to maintain the mask he wore, but he was never that good at occlumency or keeping a poker face in general. That was how Voldemort knew to crucio him within an inch of his life after he lied for Hermione at the manor.

Lucius had always said that Draco was never quite right after that.

"You think I wouldn't expect you to try and cheat your little way to victory? You are my son, Draco. I know you." Lucius walked towards his son slowly, almost as if he truly was a snow leopard, stalking a bharal for slaughter. "And if she's as brilliant as you say, I'm sure she's already thought to lift the charm."

Draco's Adam's Apple bobbed in his throat as he swallowed hard. _No, I told her about the shoes, but not the map._ Draco removed his wand and cast the charm that should have created a bright light for him to follow that would lead him right to his betrothed, but nothing appeared. Not even the smallest flicker of light.

"I would tell you again to give up, but I am already having too much fun." Lucius gave a sinister laugh, before tilting his nose into the air. "Come, we must eat before we start our hunt in an hour."

Draco gave a terse nod as he bit the inside of his cheek, scowling at the fact that Hermione had found both items to be charmed. _No matter,_ he thought. _Of course my little pet would have found that out._ He watched the plains of his father's broad shoulders softly sway as he walked, Lucius' blonde ponytail straight as a iron rod laying between his shoulder blades. _That's why I have a back up plan._ Draco hoped he wouldn't have to resort to the second plan as it relied on him being patient as he waited for Hermione, but against his father, Draco was unwilling to leave room for any chance of failing if he was unable to capture her fairly.

He waited long enough for Hermione. Waiting a little longer wouldn't kill him.

* * *

 _The phone didn't work. The phone didn't_ fucking _work because it was dead._ The chime wasn't from receiving a text, a call, or a voicemail, it was a chime signaling it was dying. Hermione had less than ten seconds to realize this before the blocky letters of _NOKIA_ appeared and disappeared. She couldn't even attempt to charge it with her wand - Something that was more than touchy with a regular wand and a skilled wizard, but was not impossible with her altered wand.

Hermione didn't know how Lucius did it, but he made it so that she couldn't cast most useful spells properly; Anything that she tried to transfigure, turned into a snake that would try to attack her - She cynically thought that this was Lucius' Slytherin gag to her - and it seemed that the more she tried to transfigure, the more dangerous the snake would become. Whenever Hermione tried to use a disillusionment charm, it would either last no longer than a minute, or the item she disillusioned would still be visible as it altered the objects being seen through it to look like a very poor Photoshop job.

There was also the issue of trying to cast offensive spells. The only thing she had been able to cast properly was _Sectumsempra_ which had been weakened to a strength that was below a properly placed _Diffindo_ , not to mention that while the curse cast three slashes to appear on her target, she couldn't aim where the marks would land at all - not to mention she could _only_ cast spells she knew the incantation to. Wordless magic was not an option with the new state of her wand, but she was relieved she found the second tracking charm that Draco placed on the map.

Hermione looked up at the sky above her. The sun was starting to set, but she only felt relief at the fact that she would be able to act on her plan. A plan she hatched after hours of trying to discover what spells would work for her and what didn't.

She was back in the field where she had ran into the Bowtruckles. Hermione thought herself lucky that she was able to retrace her steps, and she thought herself _extremely_ she was able to find _fairy eggs_ in the area the Bowtruckles chased her into. When she had looked back up at the sky when her phone died, she found several large elephant ear leaves where the underside was _covered_ with the eggs. She knew fairies had the ability to lay fifty eggs in one go, but never had she seen the product in real life before. Thus her plan was hatched. She severed three of the leaves from their stems and very carefully placed them in her bag before heading back from where she had just came.

Now that she knew that she needed to keep an eye out for the leaf green and chestnut brown creatures, it was easy to see that she had actually been _surrounded_ by Wiggentrees that housed branches upon branches of Bowtruckles. She approached the tree she whipped the snake at before - the Bowtruckles were now picking at any flies that dared to come near the tree - and laid a leaf upside down so the Bowtruckles saw her offering before they attacked her again. Quickly, they descended on to the fairy eggs, cracking them open and pulling the unborn iridescent beings out of the larvae sacs. Hermione thought she should have been bothered at the sight of the tiny humanoid beings being ripped apart, limb by limb, but she considered this to be nature at work on the cycle of life.

When they looked back up at her to see if she would offer them a second leaf, blood still dripping from their teeth, she didn't hesitate to give them that, too. "We're friends now, right?"

The buzzing response she received was at a much higher pitch and much more playful than the angry ones she heard earlier.

"Good." She needed them not to attack her a second time. At least not until she gave them reason to.

Hermione scoped out the area, looking for a large tree that she would be able to climb to keep both the Bowtruckle's Wiggentree and Malfoys in sight. She found one almost directly across from the snake decorated tree and offered the Bowtruckles in front of it the last leaf she had so they would not attack her when she was near. They were grateful for the delicacy and she found no issues climbing the pine tree. Looking up at the sky she was able to catch the last rays of sunshine disappearing.

_The hunt has begun._

Hermione swallowed as she thought this. Adrenaline was an amazing chemical. She was both calm and awake. She heard the rippling of the underbrush and the rustling of every leaf in the wind, but her eyes didn't move from the path that was illuminated by the full moon. An hour passed, but nothing happened. A second hour was almost ticking away and Hermione felt her legs had fallen asleep waiting up in the tree for so long. _They have to come. Lucius will know how to find me in ways that Draco wouldn't have -_

Hermione was right.

Not a full fifteen minutes after she allowed herself to consider panicking, she heard their heavy footsteps disrupting the greenery, then their voices. Hermione recast her weak disillusionment charm on herself to better camouflage into the world around her. "Father, I feel like we've searched this area before." Draco was the first to appear, walking in front of his father in a childish attempt to spot Hermione first. Despite his words, he still scanned the area for everything at his eye level or lower. "There aren't even foot prints here - "

"We haven't." Lucius sounded annoyed, and Hermione would have gazed upon them with a smug look on her face if the circumstances were different. She found herself wondering how, even drunk, she thought it was a good idea to let Lucius in her home. Hermione could have just blamed the fact that she had faith he was reformed, but she refused to use an excuse for her actions.

She raised her wand. _Just a little bit closer._ They were almost in front of the Bowtruckle bark she had assaulted earlier. _Walking so close, some would say your confidence was foolish Lucius._ Her heart raced and her mouth watered with anticipation of her catch.

"Maybe we should look past the forest. I think she would have ran - "

"Look!" Hermione jumped despite that Lucius was pointing at something he saw on the ground, and no where near her hiding place. "Footprints."

 _What? How can he see that?_ Hermione started to panic while Lucius and Draco stepped away from the tree she had originally been aiming to fire her curse at. _No! Fuck!_

She had no choice, but to fire her spell. " _Sectumsempra._ "

Hermione found herself a fool to forget her father's number one saying about going camping: 'Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.'

The spell whizzed past the Bowtruckle tree she was aiming for, without even severing a leaf. The breath that left her body, exited carrying her hope with it. _No._

She thought it would have been better not just for her survival, but for her consciousness of repeatedly choosing good over evil to let the Bowtruckles do her dirty work for her. Instead, all she ended up doing was cause Lucius to become more than alert to her presence. While Draco looked towards where her spell had crashed into another tree, Lucius was now searching her side of the clearing for her.

In her panic, she cast the spell again and this time, one of the sharp tendrils of air sliced into the tree, awaking the _entire_ horde with the gash it left in the wood.

"Fa - Father!" Hermione watched as Draco was struck first with the wood and fell over as soon as his left leg had stiffened. In his fall though, he was able to remove his wand to defend himself from the next onslaught of wood chips being thrown at him.

Lucius on the other hand, was having the time of his life dueling the bow truckles. "Oh, this is almost like being in the war again." Lucius laughed as he skipped to the side, evading attacks and murdering handfuls of Bowtruckles at a time with the killing curse.

"Father, help!" Both of Draco's legs had been temporarily paralyzed now and he was trying to drag himself away from the small creatures that were starting to tear at his dress pants. Hermione dared to look close enough and saw that they were starting to draw blood in thin cuts on his legs, causing him to whimper in his panic. "They're going to kill me!"

"Use a shield, Draco." Lucius snapped. Hermione was surprised to see that despite his quip, Lucius was inching towards Draco almost in a protective manner. Hermione climbed down the tree and tip toed towards the field so she could get a better view as she watched Lucius for several minutes as he defended both himself and Draco, hoping that he would soon falter. At the rate his wand work was going though, the Bowtruckles might not going to be able to overcome him. _If only they were closer to some of the other trees, I could hit another without them coming after me._ in his attempt to move away from the Bowtruckles and closer to his son, Lucius's back had turned so it was no longer facing Hermione. " _You._ "

Her disillusionment charm had completely fallen and she felt her mouth dry as she looked between both of the Malfoy men. Draco looked as if a new fight woke in him, as he thought about how he could get out of the Bowtruckle clutches to capture her. Lucius was snarling like a mad man, but his concentration on wand work, only became more intense. _I have to do something -_ " _Expelliarmus_!" Once again, her wand disappointed her. " _Petrificus Totalus! Stupefy!_ "

"I thought you said she was smart, Draco! All. This. Time," Lucius' arcs started to become wider as he fought off the Bowtruckles and the number of their green and brown bodies falling to the ground seemed to double with every new slash. "And she still didn't figure out what spells works! You should thank me when I kill her for saving the embarrassment of bringing her-"

" _Crucio!_ " Still nothing. Hermione looked around for anything she could at least hit Lucius over the head with.

"Oh you'll pay for that one when I am done-"

 _Bloody hell, I am an idiot._ Sending a prayer to any deity who was willing to listen, Hermione tried her next spell. " _Wingardium Leviosa._ " Hermione levitated the fallen planks of wood the Bowtruckles had dropped, knowing that if the venom the Bowtruckles use on the barks had not dried, it would still cause paralysis.

"Wha-" Lucius' eyes widened realizing what Hermione was going to do. "JOB!" With a slice through the air, the planks slammed into Lucius, knocking him to the ground beside a surprised Draco who had finally cast a _Protego_ around himself at the same time the house elf appeared. Lucius' eyes fell on her and she saw a mischievous glint in his eye. "Take us back to the Manor."

Her blood ran cold as she dashed forward, ready to knock the Bowtruckle and house elf out of her way if she needed to. _Of all the places I struck him in, I missed his face_. "No - Don't! _Sectemsempra_!"

 _Crack_!

Hermione sank to her knees as her spell flew through the air to hit one of the few trees that did not house any creatures. They were gone, and Lucius made sure his escape was just like hers had been at the Malfoy Manor. _The bastard_! She pounded the ground in her anger as the remaining Bowtruckles went back to their tree, unbothered by the fit of rage she was having. _I'm going to end him._

With all the wailing she was doing, she didn't hear the man slowly approaching her from behind, ready to tackle her to the ground in an attempt to subdue her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure why Boa Constrictors have small teeth instead of fangs, but they do.
> 
> Last update will be on 10/17/20. Who do you think will win?


	5. TRUE ENDING

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter is here. It would be lovely if you could leave a review after this chapter if you haven't already. This was somewhat new territory for me and I would love to get some feedback on how I did.
> 
> Thank you for reading anyways though.
> 
> TW: Graphic Depictions of Violence, ADDITIONAL TRIGGER WARNING AT THE BOTTOM THAT CONTAINS SPOILER

**SUNDAY**

Despite Ron being more than willing to allow the Ministry to search his apartment, Harry could not _officially_ start the investigation until he was given the warrant the next day. Ron wanted to start the investigation behind the Ministry's back to look for Hermione, but Harry stopped him, saying they could start to search her whereabouts in another way, like with her wand. A cold chill passed over Harry when they were unable to trace her wand's signature and when he thought to work with the muggle police department to track her phone, he got the same results. Hermione was in danger.

By the time the Wizgamont granted him the warrant at seven AM the next day, Harry hand-picked the best team of investigators the Ministry had to offer and accompanied them to Hermione's flat. Ron was instructed by Harry to stay in the living room to keep out of his team's way, while Harry collected statements from Hermione's neighbors before obliviating them. Harry tried to fight the feeling that questioning the muggles was a waste of time, but it proved to be difficult. A week had already passed and half of them couldn't recall the night he had last seen Hermione while the other half said they _thought_ that they put in a noise complaint for Hermione's flat the following day. These claims matched up with the flat's leasing office as they did confirm that complaints were made for loud music being played at an 'ungodly hour.'

Still, he wished there was something more to go off of than the handkerchief that had been left on the floor of the flat. Whatever chemical it had been doused in was powerful enough to lift the protective coat of the laminate floors of her kitchen and it left the material slightly stiff. Hermione's wards were still in place, but Harry had the sneaking suspicion that while it looked like a muggle kidnapping had happened, there was a wizard behind it. Even Ron was hesitant to take Harry's side in this as Ron specifically remembered Hermione setting up the wards so only his wand or her wand would have the ability to disable the protective measures.

"You'll be able to find her with that, won't you?" Ron asked Harry for what had to be the fifth time in a row. "That handkerchief has to lead you somewhere. Hermione would know a spell -" Ron nervously glanced at the book case that had tomes upon tomes covering all kinds of magic. "Maybe I can find something in her books -"

Harry felt himself starting to crack under the stress. For years he wanted Hermione and Ron together. He would never admit it to either of them so he could avoid losing a best friend, but he was cross with Ron for what he did. "Why are you worried, Ron? You were _so_ happy when you had split, so why do you care _now_?"

Ron hadn't expected the aggression from Harry and looked down to see Harry's green eyes boring in to his blue ones. "I already cleared my name with that detective bloke, no need for you to question me a second time." Harry didn't even raise an eyebrow at Ron's weak attempt at avoiding the question. He sighed and looked off to the side. "Well, Because..." Ron became too aware of the wizards around him, searching every nook and cranny for a clue or tell-tale sign of a struggle. There hadn't even been a sign of forced entry - Muggle or magical, but that hardly alarmed anyone other than Harry or Ron.

But Ron _knew_ his Hermione would never run off without another word to anyone. "Because I fucked up. I realized that after my last row with Ginny."

Harry didn't say anything. He just nodded as he turned away from Ron. He could feel the vein over his left temple throbbing. "You're a sodding idiot if you think she's going to take you back."

Ron almost said something else, but they were interrupted by one of the junior investigators approaching them holding a purring Crookshanks in her arms. She wasn't one of the best at being an investigator per se, as she had only been in the field for a little over a year, but her animagus form was a cat, meaning their star witness, Crookshanks, had also been interrogated. It wasn't standard protocol to have creatures interviewed for a statement and despite him being _The_ Boy-Who-Lived, it was proving quite difficult to have the Wizagamont try and take a creature's word in a case.

"Mr. Potter, I think you'll be interested in what Crooks had finally told me." The young woman looked slightly uncomfortable and Harry thought she may have been petting the half-kneazle for comfort, rather than Crookshanks using her for comfort. "It looks like you were right. Miss Granger was attacked."

* * *

_"Now remember, when the Death Eaters storm the castle, we are_ only _to restrain them. Do not kill if necessary, the Ministry - "_

 _"You want us to worry about their lives? Never mind what they've done to us or our families!" Hermione's entire body was vibrating with rage._ What is she on about? _"Professor, I don't think we should be worrying about if they'll be okay or not at the end of the day. If we kill them, they won't be able to get back up again and start a third war -"_  
_"Miss Granger!" McGongall's voice was severe enough to snap Hermione out of the vengeful feelings she was allowing herself to spiral down. "Mind your tongue! You should know by now that by resorting to their methods you are no better than them!"_

 _Hermione opened her mouth to continue until it hit her what was going on around her. Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws alike were all standing there, staring at her as if she had lost her mind like they did with Pansy when the Slytherin girl suggested they offer Harry up on a silver platter to the Death Eaters. When she felt Ron pull on her sleeve, she let her shoulders slump in defeat before taking a step back and closing her mouth._ It's not fair and I am _not_ wrong.

_As McGonagall continued, Hermione allowed angry tears to fall down her face. She was livid, and even though she chose this moment to close her mouth about what she thought was right, that didn't mean she was going to hold back once she was out on the battlefield. Voldemort and his followers deserved a bloodbath and she was more than willing to deliver it._

* * *

Hermione woke up from the dream of the flashback with a jolt. At first, she thought she was now dreaming that she was on the Horcrux hunt, but then the ugly truth hit her with a dose of anxiety. Hermione let out a whine as she gripped her face. She bit down on her knuckles to stop herself from crying once more to avoid waking up the muggle who had taken her in last night.

One of the last things she ever thought would happen, was running into another person on the island - Let alone one of the _Muggles_ she was trying to track down. She could still remember her exact thoughts once she realized who had tackled her to the ground last night: _If I can just get back, I can close all ten cases. The other nine are obviously dead, but I can at least I return Richard Connell to his family_... How he survived, Hermione would never know. As a muggle, he wouldn't have been able to see half of the creatures on the island, but he had found ways to live off of the land - All without the Malfoys ever finding out. The only draw back was that she had to hide her wand from him at all times. The first question he asked was if she was ' _a bint with a bloody magic stick, too_ '.

Of course her answer had been 'no' when she saw he had raised a rock over his head, ready to bash her brains in if she told Richard the truth. She blamed herself for ending up in that position, too. Auror training taught her to have constant vigilance and she had let her guard down once again.

It was a mistake that she could not afford a third time.

Hermione felt herself retreating into the recesses of her mind, and one by one she imagined herself shutting down the emotions that would hold her back from killing, the reactions that would cause her to hesitate. It was the same conversation she had with herself at the Battle of Hogwarts and every mission after that where she knew it would get ugly; _No empathy. No remorse. Not even pity. It's me or them and I choose me. I will not lose my nerve._

"You're already up."

Hermione blinked before allowing her attention to be pulled away from her inner most thoughts. She felt almost robotic, which was how she liked to be when entering a life or death situation. For now though, she decided to tuck that part of her away in front of Richard, but it was still kept on stand by. "I'm surprised you can even sleep." Hermione spent the entire night floating in and out of consciousness. She was uncomfortable, tired, and most of all scared. Scared that Lucius and Draco were going to somehow find them, despite her knowing that if Richard was still alive, then they probably had no clue where they could be.

"Yeah, well, I've been here for a long while." Richard pointed to the wall behind her. Now that there was sun light trickling through the cave they were in, Hermione could see that the wall she had decided to sleep against was covered in lines grouped into fives. It always seemed like a joke to her when she saw the same image of someone counting their days in a movie or a cartoon, but being stuck in a cell for a week had her considering the idea herself in a feeble attempt to preserve her sanity.

Hermione didn't need to get a good angle to see how many days were were counted to know how long he had been missing, but she moved away from the wall anyway to not raise any suspicions. "One hundred days exactly."

"And today," Richard got up from his bed made from dried leaves and hobbled over to her wall. He picked up a stone Hermione imagined he found outside of the cave and rubbed it against the gypsum wall to make another white line. "One hundred and one days today." He paused and faster than she could say _Quidditch_ , Robert's face crumbled for a second under his dirt caked face and dingy beard, and he turned to face the wall. His voice was thick as he spoke. "I'll be missing my youngest girl's birthday today."

Hermione swallowed. This was why she believed in justice: To stop people like Lucius from ruining innocent lives. _I'm going to kill him. Maybe I'll get Malfoy help, but I will stain the carpets in that bloody house with his father's blood._ "We'll get out of here." She offered. It was meant to be a promise, but the words felt untrue as they left her lips.

"Yeah. Right." Whilst he may have been defeated, and accepted his fate on the island, it was clear that Richard was a practical man who was going to put his mundane survival over hope. Richard walked to the narrow entrance of the cave, but stopped just before slipping into the crack to beckon her forward. "Come on. I can show you where I get my food from." Hermione grabbed her bag and followed, not seeing she had a choice.

After they slipped through the slim opening of the cave, Richard told her about the night that he was supposed to die. When she spoke about magic, he started to fidget. "You've seen them though right? They use these, these _wands_ and they can do the craziest things with them. I swear, they closed me in that cave, thinking I would die there, but they didn't know there was another exit. Hell - I didn't realize it either until a day later, when I was laying on my side waiting to starve to death." Richard lead her through some shrubbery that was near a small lake. The lake had a waterfall and Hermione hated to admit that the island was quite beautiful despite its owners. She thought about her island map, remembering that there was a lake on one side. She didn't think she was that far over to one side of the island, but she supposed it was entirely possible. After Richard was convinced Hermione was of no threat, he had helped her off the ground and guided her back to his safe haven with ease. He gave her food and water, before saying that they needed to go to bed. He briefly informed her that he operated on a schedule to make sure that he got the most out of a day. The man seemed a bit barmy, but she couldn't blame him after what he had been through.

"They only bring blokes here to hunt around the full moon, but you're the first one I was able to get to before they did. That's why I sort of got rough with you last night. Sorry 'bout that." He didn't look back as he brought her to one end of the lake where there were berries of all kinds growing. "I had to make sure you weren't one of _them_." Richard pushed some of the branches around, until he finally turned around and held out his hands towards her. "Here."

"Are these Raspberries?"

"Yes ma'am." He put the entirety of his findings into her hands, which ended up being a total of fourteen berries in two groups of seven. _How odd._ "Eat up, I'm going to see if I can find some eggs in that tree - I like a light breakfast. I can usually rotate between four different spots for food. I stay away from the swamp though, there's some quick sand that way." When he disappeared behind the foliage again, Hermione took a closer look at the branches he got the berries from to see that they were already growing back. _He doesn't even need to rotate between the four different locations._ Hermione ate the berries off of the severed branches and closed her eyes. They were perfectly ripe and a sharp contrast to the unseasoned bits of fish they shared last night. If only for a few minutes, she wanted to pretend that she was on holiday instead of trying to stay alive with two armed men hunting her down.

When Richard came back, they sat at the edge of the lake. . Hermione gave him one gallon for him to drink out of. He eyed it, but tried to restrain himself from accepting it. Hermione shook the unopened jug at him and practically shoved it in his chest. "It's the least I can do after you shared your supply with me last night and I don't much else to offer. It's the cleanest water you'll have had in months." He took the water and cradled it like a babe for a second.

"Thank you. Sometimes the water isn't any good, even with the leaves filtering it all." He took a small sip to savor the clean flavor. "Plus the container will be very useful."

Hermione nodded as she already knew this. Even after following Richard to his cave, she had not fully trusted him last night and she was hesitant to open up her bag in the event she needed to make a quick escape.

When he had come back from his tree climb, he had ended up finding a bird's nest that had three eggs for them to share. Hermione said she would stick to the berries and Richard practically beamed that he wouldn't have to share his findings again. She watched as he cracked one side with his bare knuckle before splitting it open over his mouth, swallowing the yoke in one loud gulp. Hermione shivered as she imagined the texture the raw egg had to have and placed another berry in her mouth while Richard chased his egg down with water. She was in the process of savoring the flavors of her favorite berries when he spoke again.

"The younger bloke. He's a cute one, isn't he?"

Hermione choked when she inhaled the raspberry she had just pressed to the roof of her mouth to get the maximum amount of juices from it. "Sorry?"

Richard drank deeply from the jug again. "The one with the slight build? I think his name is Draco." Richard looked over the lake dreamily as he repeatedly cooed the name over and over. "Draco, Draco, Draco, Draco, Draco. Wicked name. You think if I go back - "

Hermione leaned away from him. "Richard, they're trying to kill us. What are you on about?"

He looked at her with an incredulous look. "What? No, Draco doesn't like the game, it's the older bloke who makes him play. But Draco? He's lovely. He would never, no." Richard shook his head with a confidence that made her want to scream. "I think I love him. I should tell him."

 _Oh - Oh, no._ She looked at him and despite the sun that was hitting their faces, he seemed to grow pale. "Richard, stop drinking that water." She reached for it, but he batted her hand away with force. The _clap_ that was made from skin colliding on skin made a fire start to grow within her again.

"No. Draco gave this to you, and you gave this to me. I'll cherish it." Hermione reached for it again but this time he also grabbed her bag as he stood up and started to rummage through it with his free hand. "What else did he give you? Why you and not me?"

 _My wand_! "Richard - No!" Hermione lunged for the bag once she was on her feet, but the thin man was quicker than he let her believe. She could feel herself grow more and more frustrated with him. _Honestly._

Before she could reach for it again, he had found it. She watched with suppressed rage as he pulled out her ten and three-quarter inch vine wood wand, a look of horror, then anger on his face. "You lied to me! You lied to me because _you're_ going to kill him, weren't you?"

Hermione wasn't sure if something clicked or something had snapped at that point. She didn't really care. She was stranded on an island and she finally realized no one could tell her how to think or act here. Slowly, Hermione untensed her shoulders and relaxed her hands as she took a slow step toward the enraged man. "That's quite an accusation to make." She could almost hear the words of an old textbook reaching out to her as she continued to walk towards her prey: _The effects of_ Amortentia _on a person are described to be near instantaneous; with the person who drank the potion appearing "pale and sickly" and becoming obsessed with the object of their affections, speaking of them as though "hit by a ray of purest sunlight" and becoming excited or dangerously unstable towards others. Particularly when they feel others are going to keep them from the object of their affections._ Hermione's decision on what her next course of action was came to her as quick as adding two plus two did. She didn't have the time nor the space to keep Richard quarantined in an area for the love potion to wear off and the last thing she needed was to have a third person trying to hunt her down. _It's me or him and I choose me._ "Richard, please give me my wand. I don't want to hurt your Draco." _I'll make it quick. Like euthanizing a sick dog._ Hermione didn't feel bad about dehumanizing her prey. With the potion in his veins and how he started to crack under being stranded for three months, she felt she would be doing him a favor.

"Liar!" Richard threw her duffel to the ground and when he pulled an arm back to throw her wand into the jungle was when she acted.

With a quickness that only came with the years of wandless training Shacklebolt made all Aurors go through, Hermione closed the space between them after making a sidestep, leaving her with a clear shot of the pressure point behind his ear. Her aim was true as Richard didn't have the time to move out of the way and he fell like a bag of bricks, her wand bouncing in the dirt at his side.

The shock of the blow rendered him in capable to get back on his feet. Before Richard could try to get on all fours, Hermione kicked him on to his back. He tried to look up at her but the sun beaming over her shoulder blocked out her face, keeping her silhouette too dark for him to discern any of her features. Her shoulders were taunt again and her fists were clenched as she lifted one leg before coming down with her knee right on to his chest, using gravity and her body weight to crush his heart. Due to the concentrated pressure and gravity, several of his ribs cracked with an unusual ease as his body seized and blood started to pool in his throat from his lung being flooded with blood.

Hermione counted eight seconds before his body went limp and she knew she was now the only survivor on the island. She waited like she did every time to feel any sympathy, or any soul splitting that Dumbledore insisted happened every time someone took another's life, but it didn't come. It never did.

What did come was the understanding that by waiting for night fall to see which one of the Malfoys would get her first was suicide. Her wand was about as useful as a toothpick and nothing was in her favor. What she needed was to gain the upper hand that Lucius tried to ensure she would never get.

As Hermione picked up her belongings from the floor, save for the water jugs that she now knew was laced, she hatched her plan. A very _Gryffindor_ plan. She was no sitting duck, and what she needed before anything else, was a wand.

* * *

Draco watched the land before him from his bedroom window at the island manor, guilt riddling him. _How could I have forgotten to tell her about the creatures? Tiger Lilies, Bowtruckles and bloody Demiguises are in there and I didn't even say anything. If she's ripped to shreds, I'll never forgive myself._ Draco ran a hand through his hair. _Just two more hours until the sun is down_ -

 _Creeeeeeeak_. Draco almost didn't turn around when he heard the door to his room open, expecting it to be his father. When he didn't hear his father speak or the door close immediately after, he turned around and saw Hermione trying to silently close the door behind her, by keeping the handle turned until the door was settled into it's frame.

Even with her curls in a messy bun on top of her head, he still found her to be breath taking. "You're here." It was a whisper that escaped his lips, but she heard it. She jumped at being caught, but when she turned around with a dopey look on her face, he knew why. "You drank the water." He stood up, not bothering to reach for his wand that was on the bedside table.

"I did." Her answer was a sigh of relief as she threw herself into his arms. "Clever of you to include the blueprint of your home so I would find you after I did." He beamed at that. "Draco, I'm so sorry for what I said -"

"Shhhh, it's okay." Draco wrapped his arms around Hermione's small frame and kissed her forehead. "We're going to be okay now." He allowed himself to enjoy the feel of her arms around him, even though he knew it was from the Amortentia. _This_ was what he wanted from her, and now he finally had it. _Maybe I can just microdose her with it until she actually falls in love with me._ He didn't plan to keep her on the potion after he had won the bet, but the rejection he felt in the dungeon still stung and he rather not repeat it again.

"Draco?"

"Yes, my love?"

"Do you think we'll be able to fix my wand?"

When Draco pulled back at to look down at her, Hermione batted her lashes at him. _Gods, that pout..._ "I don't think we can. Father told me he had kidnapped Gregorovitch himself to alter it." He could feel her hands moving behind his back, but thought nothing of it as he tucked a stray curl behind her ear. "But you won't need to worry about a wand. I can keep you here and you can live as my little muggleborn." He was disheartened when she didn't react to his offer of her having an easy life away from everyone. "If you'd like though, I can arrange for you to have one. Anything for you." _I can't promise I won't have it altered though._

Hermione smiled at that. She pulled away from him, just a little bit more, and placed one hand on his cheek. "I love you."

Draco felt his stomach burst into fireworks at the three little words. This wasn't the whore at the brothel, this was _the_ Hermione Granger saying it this time. Love potion or not, this was better than any hour he had paid for. "You mean that?"

Her smile widened as her hand traveled up his face and into his hair. She nodded and looked almost teary eyed as she looked into Draco's clueless gray ones. She gripped the hair at the crown of his head as she said the last word he would ever hear. "No." Draco's eyes only had the time to widen a fraction of a second before Hermione sunk the end of her wand into his eye socket.

Draco screamed as he attempted to shove Hermione back, but she anticipated the move and was able to block his hands before using his unstable stance against him. She pushed him on to the bed and placed a hand over his mouth to muffle his screaming before continuing to press her wand even further into his head. He tried moving his head back and forth, causing blood to leak onto his nearly translucent skin, but once she felt more than heard the cracking of the sphenoid bone giving way to her wand's tip he stopped as the wood sunk into his brain.

Hermione stayed there on all fours as she stared down at Draco's open mouth and bloody face. "If you would have just asked me on a date like any other bloke, I would have said yes, you bloody loon."

When Hermione got up and grabbed his wand from the bedside table. It was almost a breath of fresh air compared to her wand that was firmly secured in Draco's face. His wand was almost an inch shorter than hers and the unicorn hair wanted to fight her off, but after a minute of doing simple year one spells, it recognized her as its master and complied to every swish she made.

Hermione felt like she had one lung to breath out of now. _I just have to kill Job, then Lucius._ Hermione felt herself frown realizing the house elf had to go, but it was more out of principle than anything else. Job was going to be nothing but an advantage for Lucius and she didn't want him to kill her - Or worse, get away again. She wiped a hand across her face and felt some of Draco's warm blood smear on her cheek, but she was unbothered. If anything, she liked the moisturizing feel of the pureblood's blood on her freckled face. A sane part of her told whispered something about bloodborne illnesses, but she mentally squashed the reasoning. She felt awake - She would have even dared to say alive even - as she reveled in the thrill of the kill.

She levitated Draco's body after wrapping it in his bloody comforter and opened his closet door to place him inside along with her bag. In the event Job tried to summon his young master before Hermione could find the elf, she didn't want him to be alerted to her presence in the house. After transfiguring a dress shirt of Draco's into a carbon copy of the comforter he was currently wrapped in, Hermione slipped out of the room. She silenced her shoes and started to make her way towards the kitchens where she expected Lucius to keep Job.

Hermione looked around every corner before stepping into the open spaces as she walked a path she thought she had memorized. _The stairs should be right around here -_ But they weren't. She found herself faced with a dead end that had three guest bedroom doors. _Shit_. Hermione fumbled pulling the blueprint out of her pocket. She felt frustration starting to cloud her thinking when she struggled trying to verify where exactly she was standing. _Where the bloody hell am I_ -

One of the doors opened and Hermione's heart stopped when she saw no one was there at first. When her gaze dropped, she saw Job standing there, eyes wide seeing her standing in the Malfoy's island manor. Hermione's eyes darted back over to the blueprint and she found where she was standing. _Slave quarters, how convenient._ She didn't know if she cast the spell before she smiled or vice versa. " _Avada Kedavra_." Hermione noticed the wand had started it's vibrating again, a clear indicator it objected to what she had done, but it was helpless in her grasp. "Would it make you feel better if I placed Job in his bed?" The wand stopped vibrating and she snickered. _Wands can be so mumpish_. She didn't step out of the doorway before she sent the lifeless creature's body to the nest House Elves preferred to sleep in.

As she closed the door and checked the other two rooms to verify if there were anymore House Elves, Hermione thought about how she would kill Lucius. There was so many different ways to do it now that she had a wand, all depending on how she caught him and what his reaction would be once she had him in her grasp. _So many options, so little time._

* * *

Lucius sipped on his brandy as he read Hermione's latest thesis on blood magic. It was a copy he had found in Draco's office long ago and he nicked it for some light reading to see if there was something to his son's infatuation. To his surprise, there was. _Such a shame a brilliant mind was born to such a abhorrent_ _creature._ He put down his glass to flip to the next page and when he reached for it again, he found it to be gone.

"Do you always drink before a hunt?" Lucius looked up to see Hermione Granger was now standing in his study, his drink in one hand and two wands in the her other hand. He glanced around his large, cherry wood desk to find his wand no longer on it. "You are terribly engrossed when you read, like me." His lips pulled back into a snarl as Hermione slowly walked over to his desk. "Does it help? Drinking I mean." Hermione took a sip from the glass and smacked her lips. "Mmm." She looked inside of the glass then back at Lucius. "I'm sure the bottle had cost you hundreds of galleons, but it honestly tastes like shit." Hermione poured the contents of the glass onto the three headed dog rug Lucius had in his study before throwing the glass on to the floor.

Lucius inhaled deeply, barely keeping control of the rage he felt. "Couldn't even bother to wipe the blood off of your face before you came to see me, mudblood?"

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Are you really going to resort to slurs in your last hour, Lucius?"

The blonde man laughed at her. " _My_ last hour? _Job._ " When the house elf didn't apparate in the room, Hermione smiled sweetly at him. "JOB!" Lucius tried again. "What did you do to him? Free him with your cheap clothing?"

"Something like that." Hermione started to twirl her new wand as she put the fist still clutching Lucius' wand on her hip. "You should try calling out for your son next."

His face blanched, but the only thing Hermione did was shift her gaze from his face to her wand. "That's Draco's wand." He observed. His eyes shifted to the blood smeared on her cheek.

"Actually, it's mine now."

"What did you do to my son?" Lucius' voice shook for the first time in years from something that wasn't rage and it caused Hermione to laugh.

"You say that like _I'm_ the one who fucked him up in the head." Hermione started to walk around the room, looking at the tomes and artifacts. "That's the problems with parents. All you do is react however you see fit, and you believe you're immune of any consequence that involves your child. Because you happened to give them life." Hermione shook her head slowly, never taking his eyes off of him. "You know, I saved my parents during the war four years ago and they still treat me like I am some monster for it."

"As they shou-" With a smooth flick of her wand, a cut formed over Lucius' cheekbone. His eyes widened in disbelief that she had actually harmed him. There was something about being in the safety of his home and property that delayed the realization of the inevitable. This was the closest he had ever been to death, even during his time serving Voldemort, but It only dawned on him when he saw his own blood covering his finger tips when he pulled his hand away from his face. Lucius made a show of wiping the blood on to his pants before discreetly feeling around for the knife he left secured to the inside of every desk he owned.

"Mind your tongue, Lucius. Honestly, did Voldemort not teach you manners?" Hermione always thought that the Death Eaters going into a speech before they made a kill was a waste of time, but now she understood: She had a lot of hate bottled up inside of her, and there was no better time to spew it before a sinful act. She leaned over his desk to get in his face. "Should I _crucio_ you too then? Or would you better remember to hold your tongue if I imperioused you instead and had you lick me since you wanted to 'skull fuck' me so bad?"

Always having a blade in arms length was the lesson Voldemort taught his Death Eaters that Lucius never forgot. His nostrils flared from the relief he felt when his hand closed around the hilt of the blade. "Cheeky little _bitch_ ," Lucius lunged forward, and swung the knife at her in a hook motion. He aimed for the throat, but missed as Hermione was able to step far enough back that the dagger lodged itself in her left arm.

Hermione shrieked when she stumbled back. Having the arm that was holding his wand stabbed, it clattered to the ground. Lucius and Hermione both dove for them at the same time, but Hermione learned very quickly that moving had the pain her adrenaline was attempting to stave off spread through her arm like lightening. She instead opted to keep her wand up in defense. "Well, I wasn't expecting that. Constant vigilance was practiced on both side I see."

They kept their wands trained on each other, but neither of them fired at each other. The tension was thick in the room as they panted, neither of them wanting to make the first move yet. "A duel then, Miss Granger? A last chance for an honorable death?"

She couldn't help it, she laughed. "Only if you'll grant me the courtesy of healing my arm before our duel."

Lucius pulled his arm wand back so it rested over his chest. _Noble Gryffindors were always the most gullible._ "But of course. I _am_ a gentleman."

Hermione's mischievous grin didn't drop as she removed the dagger from her arm, trying to make quick work of the numbness her body was providing her. "Eergh." With a grunt, Hermione removed the the blade from her body and let it clatter to the ground. It was only when Lucius saw her using her wand that he decided to strike in an attempt to catch her off guard.

" _Avada Kedavra_!" Instead of a green light emitting from the end of his wand, he watched as the Elm wood wand transformed into a rubber chicken. "Wha-"

" _Serpensortia_." Hermione had her wand trained on the chicken which instantaneously turned into a Blue Coral Snake. Before he could reach for it or throw it off, the snake slithered up his arm and wrapped around his neck. With one final swish, Hermione hoisted Lucius up in the air where he created red claw marks in a fruitless attempt to free himself from the snake's hold. "Did you really think I would take your word for a duel?" When she laughed it was filled with pure malice. "I'll admit that I am no master at the art of wand making and I had little time to consult Gregorovitch on how to alter your wand as you did mine. However, between the fake wands the Weasley twins had made and your little transfiguration joke, I managed to come up with something that will provide me with satisfaction as I watch you die." The snake plunged it's fangs into Lucius' shoulder, filling him with a venom that locked up every muscle in his body with muscle spasms. Hermione completed the wand motion that severed her connection to the spell so she no longer had to keep her wand trained on the snake for Lucius to stay hanging. She then removed a needle she had conjured from her parent's dentistry and removed one of Lucius shoes and sock to look for a vein to inject him in as his arms were now curled into his body so she could not them. "Do you know what Procedural Sedation is? You probably don't as it's a muggle technique. Basically, the snake's venom is going to to keep you awake while you die and it has a nasty habit of killing humans by paralyzing the muscle that help you breathe." Hermione plunged the needle into a protruding vein, thankfully on the first try as the jerking of his foot made the situation a bit more difficult. "This fast acting opioid should fix that."

Lucius had never felt anything like the venom or muggle drug he was injected with and he certainly never felt anything similar when the two were combined. The only thing Lucius could now move were his eyes. He couldn't blink and his fingers were stuck over the scales of the snake. Even his tongue was now stuck in the position it was in as light tremors ran though his body - evidence of the venom trying to over come the opioid.

"You see, this works out as I also get to return the lovely favor of sense deprivation in your last moments. I nearly went mad the week I had to stay in the dark without a voice." Hermione went back to healing her arm. In the corner of her eye she could see Lucius kicking his feet, and she snickered. "There was a muggle that you left alive on your island. It took less than eight seconds to kill him. Draco? I was too preoccupied to count, but the whole ordeal didn't take more than a minute. For you? I wanted to make sure that it lasted a bit. It's been documented that it should only take one minute and thirty-eight seconds to lose muscle tones while it takes four minutes and ten seconds for muscle movement to cease when you've been hanged." Hermione accioed parchment, a quill and a bottle of ink to document Lucius' stats. "God might have made you a hunter and a gambler, Lucius, but he made me a ruthless, and curious witch." A manic giggle escaped her, but she didn't think anything of it as she watched the blonde man float in the air.

_I can't move, I can't cry- This fucking witch! I need to get down, I need to move - I need -_

By the time the sun had set on the second day of the hunt, Lucius Abraxas Malfoy was officially dead.

* * *

Hermione didn't need to take her time aspirating the sip of 1811 Chateau d'Yquem she took. She found the sweet, white wine stayed on her palate longer than any other wine she had ever tasted before. She found it to be absolutely delectable and the perfect companion for the bath she rewarded herself with.

She was only agitated for a brief second when she went to take another sip and found a drop of blood found its way into her glass. "Ugh." She looked up at Lucius' blushing face whose body was now hanging upside down, bruised throat slit open right next to Draco, a similar laceration on his throat as well. "Even in death you try to ruin things for me." After cleaning off, stripping and hanging the two Malfoy men over the claw foot bathtub, she set a warming charm for their blood to heat up as she searched for something to drink. It was slightly disappointing to know that they hardly had enough blood to fill a tub, but she supposed that's what doubling charms were for.

As she summoned a clean glass and picked up the opened bottle from the case she found, in their wine cellar, her phone chimed signaling it was now sufficiently charged. Hermione had retrieved her bag from where she left it in Draco's room when looking for wine to drink and had set up a magic circle for her phone to charge over. "Ooooh!" Hermione waved her wand to move the corpses out of her way as she stood to retrieve her phone. She didn't bother cleaning herself off and thought the trail of blood she left across the white tile floor was very fitting for her plans of what she wanted to do with the island.

Her plans to continue Lucius' tradition.

Hermione didn't think that she would ever benefit from archaic magical laws that were made to benefit purebloods, but she wouldn't complain about the new land and homes she acquired due to her slaughtering the Head of the Malfoy household and its heir. It wouldn't be hard to disappear from the world she decided. It would already be rather easy since Lucius had already kidnapped her. Hermione wouldn't need to fake witnesses or plant fake evidence at all. Her parents, or at least her father, she amended, would mourn her and hold a funeral. She would miss her friends, but losing them would be the price she was willing to pay for her to live a life where she didn't need to be miss perfect all the time.

Hermione could finally be honest with her true nature.

She decided the next hunt would comprise of three people: Greggorvitch, Narcissa Malfoy, and Ronald Weasley.

Bringing Narcissa to the island wouldn't be terribly difficult. Her release date is at the end of the week and the Aurors will escort her to the manor in Wiltshire where Hermione could kidnap her. Ronald was a bit trickier, but the red head was an idiot more than half of the time. All she had to do was ask him to meet her somewhere without telling anyone else, and he would. He trusted as easily as his Jack Russell patronus suggested.

Hermione pressed one-four-one before dialing his number so her caller ID wouldn't appear on his phone. When his voice came through after picking up, she had to fight to suppress the hungry smile on her face, so he wouldn't be able to hear it. "Hello? One moment," When he spoke again, she could hear him sound much more distant and knew he pulled the cell away from his face. "Harry, I'm going to step outside, it might be important." After a moment, he was back. "Ronald Weasley speaking. How may I help you?"

She wasn't expecting Harry to be with Ron, but the wine gave her a confident edge as she played her part of a desperate damsel - Ron's favorite. "Ron it's me - but don't tell anyone."

Silence. Hermione waited with bated breath as she heard the background noise on Ron's end gradually disappear. " _Hermione_?" Ron was obviously skeptical that he was really talking to her, but he continued. "You know Harry's got half of the Ministry looking for you, right? What's got into you disappearing like that? Are you all right? Last we checked, Crookshanks had clawed into Lucius Malfoy's thigh and we're unable to track him or his son. Harry got a warrant though and now he's talking to some prostitute we think Malfoy has been polyjuicing to look like you. He's off collecting her memories now."

Hermione didn't expect any of that, but her lies rolled off the tongue. "Crookshanks will attack anyone, you know. Lucius and I aren't enemies either, we actually became good friends after I testified for his family." Hermione looked over at the pale corpse. Rigor Mortis was going to set in the next hour or so and she thought she should burn the bodies before it did. "In fact, he had come over to our flat to invite me to one of his vacation homes. That's why he was there."

"I don't know, 'Mione. The witch who spoke to Crookshanks said -"

Hermione sighed loudly into the receiver to cut him off. "Crookshanks is almost blind. He doesn't know what he saw. _I'm_ telling you that you shouldn't be alarmed about my whereabouts." Ron tried to speak over her, but she continued to avoid him getting the chance to ask why Crookshanks was left unattended. "I realized a few things while being on holiday and we need to talk. About us. But I don't want anyone to know I'm back yet - I know Harry's in a panic."

"You said about us? You mean that?" His voice was much lower as he breathed the questions and she knew she had him.

"Yes. Us." Hermione frowned as she looked down at her arm. The blood was starting to crust over the scar that said 'mudblood' and it was starting to itch. "Promise you won't tell anyone before you meet me at our flat tomorrow?"

" _Our_ flat." Ron let out a small laugh, one that used to make her swoon, but now it only made her eye twitch. "You're asking me to allow Harry to continue a pointless investigation so we can _talk_."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Well, among other _things_ if the conversation goes well enough." Ron's breath hitched in his voice and she knew she might have laid it too thick. "I mean, it's sort of exciting, isn't it? Breaking the rules for a few more hours?"

He let out a small laugh. _And Harry said I was an idiot_. "Alright. But we will need to tell Harry tomorrow as soon as we're done."

"Promise." She lied.

* * *

_"I asked myself why the hunt no longer fascinated me. You are much younger than I am, Mr. Rainsford, and have not hunted as much, but you perhaps can guess the answer."_

_"What was it?"_

_"Simply this: hunting had ceased to be what you call 'a sporting proposition.' It had become too easy. I always got my quarry. Always. There is no greater bore than perfection."_

-General Zaroff to Rainsford, _The Most Dangerous Game_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Major Character Death


	6. ALTERNATE ENDING

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the alt ending that I almost didn't post, but I received such strong reviews regarding one of the other characters that I decided to post it anyway. I hope you'll let me know which ending you preferred!
> 
> TW: Non-Con & R*pe implied. Forced Orgasm implied.
> 
> THERE IS AN ADDITIONAL TAG I WILL BE PLACING AT THE BOTTOM OF THE CHAPTER AS IT CONTAINS A SPOILER.

**SUNDAY**

"Are these Raspberries?"

"Yes ma'am." Richard put the entirety of his findings into her hands, which ended up being a total of fourteen berries in two groups of seven. _How odd_. "Eat up, I'm going to see if I can find some eggs in that tree - I like a light breakfast. HA!" His laughter was a short-lived barking one. "I can usually rotate between four different spots for food. I stay away from the swamp though, there's some quick sand that way." When he disappeared behind the foliage again, Hermione took a closer look at the branches he got the berries from to see that they were already growing back. _He doesn't even need to rotate between the four different locations._ Hermione ate the berries off of the severed branches and closed her eyes. They were perfectly ripe and a sharp contrast to the unseasoned bits of fish they shared last night. If only for a few minutes, she wanted to pretend that she was on holiday instead of trying to stay alive with two armed men hunting her down.

When Richard came back, they sat at the edge of the lake. Hermione gave him one gallon for him to drink out of. He eyed it, but tried to restrain himself from accepting it. Hermione shook the unopened jug at him and practically shoved it in his chest. "It's the least I can do after you shared your supply with me last night and I don't have much else to offer. It's the cleanest water you'll have had in months." He took the water and cradled it like a babe for a second.

"Thank you. Sometimes the water isn't any good, even with the leaves filtering it all." He took a small sip to savor the clean flavor. "Plus the container will be beneficial in the long run."

Hermione nodded, already aware of this. Even after following Richard to his cave, she had not fully trusted him last night and she was hesitant to open up her bag in the event she needed to make a quick escape.

When he had come back from his tree climb, he had ended up finding a bird's nest that had three eggs for them to share. Hermione said she would stick to the berries and Richard practically beamed that he wouldn't have to share his findings again. When he cracked one side with his bare knuckle before splitting the egg open over his mouth, she took a drink from her own jug of water so she wouldn't start to think about the texture of the raw egg sliding down his throat.

She drank the water greedily. It was simultaneously the sweetest yet most refreshing thing she had tasted in her entire life. Only when she felt her stomach start to fill with the water did she stop, and when she did, she caught the scents of new parchment, freshly mown grass, spearmint toothpaste and something she thought was distinct similar to Ron after he came home from Quidditch training.

She didn't have time to ponder _why_ water held so many strong scents before the Amortenia hit her and Draco's face popped into her head.

"The younger bloke. He's a cute one, isn't he?"

"Sorry?" She cleared her throat, a slight blush creeping on to her face as she was starting to imagine a daydream that involved a certain blonde Malfoy.

Richard took a sip from his jug and she noticed that he had already been drinking from it himself. "The one with the slight build? I think his name is Draco." Richard looked over the lake dreamily as he repeatedly cooed the name over and over. "Draco, Draco, Draco, Draco, Draco."

Hermione giggled as she rocked to the side. _Oh how funny! We're thinking of the same person._ "He's always been rather fit." Hermione bit her lip as she thought of him. _He tried to feed me when he saw me at dinner and I refused!_ She gripped the back of her head as her head fell between her knees. _I hurt him! He was only wanting to do what was best for me in the dungeon and instead I went after his wand. Why didn't I just go with him? Have Lucius bind us in the morning -_

"You think if I go back he'll have me?"

 _What_? Hermione felt white hot rage burn inside of her. Her nostrils flared and her hands balled into fists. _Draco is_ mine. Biting her cheek to stop herself from saying what she wanted to, she tried a different route. "Richard, they tried to kill you. What are you on about?"

He looked at her with an incredulous look. "What? No, Draco doesn't like the game, it's the older bloke who makes him play. But Draco? He's lovely. He would never, no." Richard shook his head with a confidence that made her want to scream. "I think I love him. I should tell him."

 _No_. "Richard, stop drinking the water." She reached for it, but he batted her hand away with force. The clap that was made from skin colliding on skin made her start to see red.

"No. Draco gave this to you, and you gave this to me. I'll cherish it." Hermione reached for it again but this time he also grabbed her bag as he stood up and started to rummage through it with his free hand. "What else did he give you? Why you and not me?"

"Richard - No!" Hermione lunged for the bag once she was on her feet, but the thin man was quicker than he led her to believe. She could feel herself grow more and more frustrated with him. _What if he tries to come between Draco and I?_ She tried to reason with herself. Draco _wanted_ her. _He practically admitted it! He told me he wanted to marry me so I could have his kids._ Hermione placed a hand over her mouth and a hand over her stomach. Her eyes teared up as she thought about her future as Hermione Malfoy. _He'll let me keep my baby! Not like Ron-_

Hermione, completely lost in her thoughts, was brought back to the present when Richard shoved her. She tried to regain her footing so she wouldn't fall, but slipped on a slab of mud, and she landed on her side near the lake's edge. He held her ten and three-quarter inch vine wood wand a look of anger on his face. "You lied to me! You lied to me because you're going to steal him from me, weren't you?"

Hermione huffed. _Draco is mine, you stupid coot!_ Hermione knew what she had to do then to defend her happy ending and she wouldn't hesitate to do it.

When Richard started toward her a second time, she used her hands to pull herself away, causing him to walk along the water's edge. Once he was completely parallel to the water'd edge, she pulled her legs back and with a quickness that only came with the years of wandless training Shacklebolt made all Aurors go through, Hermione hooked one foot behind his ankle while she slammed the sole of her other foot onto the front of his knee. "Aaahh!" His knee didn't break like she had intended, but he still fell to the ground, dropping her wand. Hermione scrambled to climb on top of him before he could roll over. Once she secured the upper hand, she planted both feet on to the mud covered ground as best as she could and lifted him by his shirt, before throwing the upper half of his body into the lake.

Before he could right himself up again, Hermione jumped onto his chest. She leaned forward, her hand on his throat to keep him submerged as she used one shin to lock his right arm down and her foot to pin the other arm to the mossy floor of the water. _He's mine. He's going to be mine._

Richard tried to thrash and kick her off, but the most he ended up doing was cause them to sink further into the water. By the time he stopped moving, the crest of the waves they had started when they ended up in the water would run over her shoulders and brush her chin. To be sure he was dead, Hermione pushed the rest of his body under the water and when she didn't see his body rise, indicating that his lungs were no longer full of air, but water, she allowed herself to smile.

_I'm coming home, Draco._

* * *

Draco watched the land before him from his bedroom window at the island manor, guilt riddling him. _How could I have forgotten to tell her about the creatures? Tiger Lilies, Bowtruckles and bloody Demiguises are in there and I didn't even say anything. If she's ripped to shreds, I'll never forgive myself._ Draco ran a hand through his hair. _Just two more hours until the sun is down -_

 _Creeeeeeeak_. Draco almost didn't turn around when he heard the door to his room open, expecting it to be his father. When he didn't hear his father speak or the door close immediately after, he turned around and saw Hermione trying to silently close the door behind her by keeping the handle turned until the door was settled into it's frame.

Draco felt his breath leave him seeing her wet tresses fall down her pale, - and surprisingly - bare back. "You're here." It was a whisper that escaped his lips, but she heard it. Hermione jumped at being caught and she hesitated before turning around. She kept her hands in front of her vagina, as she was completely naked before him and embarrassed of the hair she had let grow there over the last few months. "You drank the water." He stood up, not bothering to reach for his wand that was on the bedside table.

"I did." Her answer was coupled with a sigh of relief as she threw herself into his arms. "I got mud all over my clothes and I didn't want to track mud into our home." He would have smiled at seeing her present herself to him in such a manner, but now that she was pressed against him, he noticed she was shivering. "Draco, I'm so sorry for what I said -"

"Shhhh, it's okay." Draco wrapped his arms around Hermione's small frame and kissed her forehead. "We're going to be okay now." He allowed himself to enjoy the feel of her arms around him, even though he knew it was from the Amortentia. _This_ was what he wanted from her, and now he finally had it. _Maybe I can just microdose her with it until she actually falls in love with me._ He didn't plan to keep her on the potion after he had won the bet, but the rejection he felt in the dungeon still stung and he rather not repeat it again. _But..._ He looked into her large brown eyes, the pupils completely blown as she looked up at him, refusing to take her eyes off of his face. _This isn't completely her. I want her in her entirety. No more polyjuiced whores and no more Amortentia._

"Draco?"

"Yes, my love?"

"Do you think I can have something to wear?"

When Draco pulled back at to look down at her, Hermione batted her lashes at him. _Gods, that pout..._ "Yes, of course." He picked up the blue comforter he had on his bed and wrapped her in it. _There will be other times to explore her body._

Hermione smiled at that. She pulled away from him, just a little bit more, and placed one hand on his cheek. "I love you."

He couldn't help himself, he kissed her. It was feverish at first, but after a moment, he allowed her to slow it down. He was out of breath when he pulled away. "I love you, too."

* * *

**ONE YEAR LATER**

Draco snapped the clasps on his suitcase closed and walked to the front door of his office at the Ministry. He looked over the blue and gray walls he never bothered changing, almost as if to say good bye. He wouldn't miss it, not at all, he only got hired here for Hermione after all. He grinned at the thought of his wife as he looked over his now empty desk. A desk that nearly got him in trouble to work on the Monday after he was bound to Hermione as Potter had found several pictures of her on his desk. He was interrogated and sent on holiday for a week, but having several seemingly candid photos of her were not enough for the Ministry to pin the charge of kidnapping on. Potter had even gone to the extent of attempting to have the prostitute pick him out in a line up, but she didn't remember him, thankfully.

Not that it would have mattered anyway, not after the Ministry found the dead body.

The real Hermione Granger was still alive, but once Draco's mother was out of Azkaban and learned the story of how she now had a step-daughter named Hermione Jaqueline Malfoy, she made quick work of finding a muggle who they could plant as a faux Hermione. Draco had paid Hermione's parents a visit after the body had been found, leaving them flowers on their door step to show his parents-in-law respect. It was the first and last time he saw them.

Draco went into a coughing fit and finally closed the door to his office one last time. He walked to the Ministry's lift and pressed it after putting away the handkerchief he had just coughed into. He watched the dial above the lift doors slowly move and he bounced on his heels, eager to get home to his wife. _Hermione will be waiting for me. She always does._ When the lift finally arrived, he stepped on to it alone, leaning against the back wall, his tired head thrown back on one of the metal bars.

"Hold it!"

Draco's head snapped up and he stopped the door just before it slammed shut. Once the doors had fully reopened, he was face to face with Harry Potter. Draco blinked before greeting him with a swift nod. "Potter."

Harry made a sound in the back of his throat that was somewhere between a scoff and a huff. "Malfoy."

"Heading out?"

"I am." He smiled at the thought of having Hermione in his arms again.

They let the doors close without another word.

Draco never felt guilty when he saw Lead Auror Harry Potter nor did he feel any guilt when he saw another Headline regarding Ronald Weasley's fall from grace. The former Quidditch Star seemed to be the Daily Prophet's favorite go-to story when they were having a hard time coming up with anything gripping for the masses. After Hermione's 'death,' Ron had several public break downs, often with a bottle of Firewhiskey in his hand.

Draco looked over at Harry who seemed to be boring holes in to Draco. He knew if Potter ever found the opportunity to pin something on him, Draco would be dead before he could reach Azkaban. "Heard it's your last day Malfoy."

Draco looked up at the dial inside of their lift. They were almost to the ground floor. "Yes. An early retirement has always been in my plans." _I'll get to spend the rest of my days with the love of my life in peace. No longer having to interact with the likes of_ you _, Potter._ A grin spread on his face knowing that he now possessed the most sacred part of the Golden Trio, leaving the other two pieces unsatisfied with their meager existence.

"Don't think I will ever give up on her, Malfoy. I don't know how, but I know it was you who did it. When I get all the eviden -"

"You speak as if you have any evidence to start with." Draco's face fell once he turned to look at Potter, appalled that the green eyed male kept insisting he would ever hurt his wife. "I fail to see why I have to remind you of this every time you decide to open your bloody mouth: If you think I would have ever laid a hand on the Ministry's _golden girl_ , you're sorely mistaken. Contrary to your idiotic beliefs, I don't have a death wi- wish." Draco coughed into the crook of his arm as he finished what he had to say to Potter. The lift dinged before the doors pushed open. Draco didn't look back as he headed to the apparation points, even when Potter called out to him.

"YOU'RE A SICK BASTARD, MALFOY!"

Not reacting was easy, something Draco was used to. When he was put in a position where other wizards were taunting him, he just thought about Hermione. She was his happy place and one of the reasons why he was eager to finally give up his job at the Ministry. He only stayed for another year so it would not look suspicious when he finally decided to play husband full time.

* * *

Once Draco arrived at the manor on their island, he searched for her, as he always did. Draco found her in the nursery, standing in the middle of the room looking over the blue and green decorations he picked out for their son that was due to be born in two months. He planned on quietly approaching her so he could hug her from behind, but another small coughing fit gave him away.

Hermione jumped and turned to face him, hand to her chest. His eyes softened as he looked at her. Ever since he had gotten sick several weeks ago, her eyes had always looked over him when he walked into a room, as if she were trying to assess his health with her keen gaze alone. He loved Hermione for being attentive when he needed it. "You're home." It warmed his heart to know she was looking forward to him arriving everyday.

"I am." He held a hand out to her, a silent request for her to join him.

She took it, but kept her eyes on his face as if she were searching for something. He gave her a quick kiss on her lips, and although her lips remained unmoving against his, he adored their soft feel. "How are you feeling today?"

"I'm fine, Love." Draco started to pepper kisses along her jawline and down her neck. She let him, as she often did, but resisted his hands trying to pull her towards him.

"You're lying." She put a hand on either side of his head so she could look at him before pulling out her wand so she could check hit vitals and his levels.

He grabbed her hand and he felt the unnatural shuddering of her vine wood wand vibrate through it. "I just need to relax. Perhaps a quick kip and I'll be back to normal." He had let her keep the modified artifact after she started to come around several months after their binding. Their relationship was _difficult_ once the Amortentia had worn off the night following their wedding. She had cried, kicked, and screamed as she begged to be released, but he would never allow it. Lucius was good on his word to let Draco keep Hermione on the island, but was of no help otherwise. Hermione didn't stop until he had snapped one night, brought her into their bedroom so he could remind her that he could have been a very loving husband.

The entire night he had made love to her, he promised her the world as his kisses left a trail of goose flesh on her skin. He noticed that after he had to tie her down, she stopped squirming and closed her eyes as she looked away. Draco imagined she was enjoying his hands all over her body, but was embarrassed about it - especially after he got her to orgasm. It seemed that his love had gotten through to her that night, as she had ended up crying with him from the beauty of the love he showered her in. The fight Hermione had felt seemed to die after that, even though she constantly tried to resist him. When she found out that she was with child, she became as complaisant as he imagined she would once she had let herself fall in love with him.

"Draco," His name on her slightly cracked lips always sounded like heaven to him. _She is my sun and our child will be my moon_. For the briefest moment, he wondered if his heir would be more Gryffindor, Slytherin or even Ravenclaw now that his parents would be around to home school him. _Tragic that he'll never go to Hogwarts, but it is a small price to pay for the perfect family life._ "Tell me, what symptoms are you experiencing? You look so pale - you're starting to sweat, too."

He looked down on her heart shaped face as she pressed the back of her hand to his head. Her eyes were alert and there was the barest hint of a smile. He wanted to burst with the joy he felt from the love and care she finally provided him. As much as he did not want to worry her, he could never resist her when she asked so nicely. She acted as if she was hanging on to his every word. "Just a cough, mostly. I may have vomited at the smell of lunch, though."

"Does anything come up when you cough? Li- Like phlegm?"

Draco felt a little panicked at that. There had been blood, but even though he had let her attempt to nurse him back to health, he didn't feel comfortable divulging that information to her. Not when her stress levels were a danger to the baby. "No." Hermione's shoulders slumped as she sighed. It was amazing how a year ago he would have suspected her to be disappointed at the news, but now he knew that she was simply relieved. _She is happy here, I gave her a good life and she appreciates me. She loves me._

_She's mine and mine alone._

"Go to your study. I will bring you tea with honey and we can finally let you take a load off."

Draco put a hand over the one she had kept on his face and pulled it down so he could kiss her palm. "The best of wives and best of women."

Hermione only smiled as she slipped past him to tend to his needs.

When Hermione had stepped into his study, he was in his worst coughing fit of the day. He raised a hand to say he was okay, but violently continued to cough as his lungs contracted. She set his tea and scones down on his desk as she threw the blanket she had retrieved from their bedroom over his shoulders.

Draco couldn't hide the blood splatters on the handkerchief as he pulled it away from his face. He glanced up at Hermione, but it seemed as if she was too preoccupied with making sure the blanket was properly covering his shoulders to notice. "Our anniversary was last week."

She paused for a moment, one hand on his left shoulder where she stood, and the other on his back. "Yes?"

"I'm sorry I can't make it up to you this weekend. I know you really wanted to -" He coughed again and he banged a fist on to the desk in frustration. "I know you wanted to get out of the manor and go on a stroll around the island."

Her voice was at a slightly higher pitch when she spoke and he assumed it was because she was disheartened that he may not be able to treat her this weekend either. "I said I wanted to go to get _off_ the island and take a stroll."

"And then I said we would settle for a walk around the island. It's not safe for you to leave – especially when you're still growing little Scorpius." Draco looked up at her. _She doesn't still want to leave still, does she?_

Hermione reassured him by pushing the baby hairs that stuck to his forehead with sweat off of his face. "You're so protective." _She means that as a compliment, I know she does._ "Is Lucius still coming with Narcissa tomorrow to check on his growth?" Hermione placed both hands on her stomach, one rubbing it in clockwise circles.

"Yes." Draco finally reached for his tea and drank from it. It was heavy with honey as Hermione always insisted that it helped her as a child when she was sick, but there wasn't the usual bitter taste this time. He never complained with the small acts of love she provided him, so he did not mention that he liked this cup better than most to avoid her thinking that he was ungrateful.

"Good. It's been much too long since I had seen Lucius." Hermione picked up the book she had brought in with the tea and blanket for her to read as she sat across from him at his desk. She settled into the seat, and he wished he had invested in a camera so he would have been able to capture the perfect moment.

_She's mine, not Weasley's. All mine and she's happy that way._

* * *

_Thud_.

"Draco?" Hermione leaned forward in her seat, setting down her copy of _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_ that she was reading. The sound of Draco's head slamming into the desk between them disrupted the concentration she had on her book -

 _No._ _It was_ his _copy of_ One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi. She refused to think anything in this glorified prison belonged to her, despite the marriage she consented to under the influence of a terribly strong love potion. "Draco, what's wrong?"

It was a struggle to keep the excitement out of her voice as she watched his shoulders heave with difficulty of trying to breathe, but she had to be careful – While Draco was delusional, he was still sane enough to tell when she was outright disgusted by him. It took _months_ to have him trust her enough to get her modified wand back and she wasn't going to mess it up by being too eager before she had the chance to complete the final step of tonight's plan.

"Herm- Herm-"

"Shhhh." Hermione bit the inside of her cheek to stop her face from splitting open with a grin. She got up and hurried to his side and looked into his tea cup. Not a single drop was left. _Good. The Belladonna was taking too bloody long to poison him._ Her eyes ell on to Draco's face and she took in the delirious look in his eyes. His lips were drained of all color and he was staring to make the parchment he had his head on look sun kissed compared to his complexion. "Let's get you to bed." Draco was scared, she knew this and she thought he deserved every bit of horror he felt in his last moments as the arsenic spread throughout his body.

Once she had one arm around her shoulders, he vomited up blood and the contents of his stomach. She could still make out chewed chunks of the dessert she had brought him. She eyed his wand that was on the desk, but forced him to stand before he could reach for it. Her heart raced as they took their first few steps towards the door together. When she felt a pain in her side from her small, pregnant frame, she immediately let go of him, allowing him to fall to the floor. "Mmmph." Draco's glazed eyes looked over to her and she could see he was lucid enough to be confused that she seemed completely emotionless as she started down at him. Hermione had hoped to get him further away from the desk before she went back for his wand, but it was clear as day Draco did not even have the strength to crawl. He managed to roll on to his side to openly wheeze as Hermione turned around to grab his wand from his desk.

She rotated the quasi-sentient wood in her hands. It hummed , not recognizing her as its master yet, but it was still a breath of fresh air compared to her damaged wand.

"Herm-" Another coughing fit that resulted in a lot more blood flying through the air shook him and Draco tried to reach towards her, a smile on his face thinking she had been kind enough to hand him his wand. He couldn't lift it up completely as the arsenic was already shutting down his organs. "Clever little wife." A painful groan later and Hermione could smell the distinct smell of feces in the air.

Hermione couldn't help the manic laughter that tore through her throat, seeing him on the ground. "Mad 'till the very end, aren't you?" Hermione hit Draco with a stinging hex, simply because she could. He visibly flinched, but there was not much more he could do.

"I- I- I-" He turned his head to the side to get all of the blood pooling in his mouth out. He was confused on why she was laughing, but he thought that perhaps she didn't know how to help him – Or she knew it was too late for him and was wanting him to pass with a smile on his face, too. He couldn't muster it, everything hurt too much, but he would use his last breath to comfort her in the best way he knew how. "I love you."

Rage filled Hermione then and if she didn't think that he was on Death's doorstep, she would have crucio'd him. "If you do, then die already, you bastard! And don't come back!"

Hermione gripped her swollen belly protectively, wondering if she should cast the Killing Curse just to have him die already. She decided not to as she watched the last bit of light leaving Draco's eyes, his body twitching as it finally shut down. _It was better he dies this way_ , she reminded herself, _It would be better to disguise him as sleeping to distract Lucius and Narcissa tomorrow when they came to check on them both._ While she felt like she had a foot to stand on now that she was properly armed with a wand, Hermione knew she could not celebrate yet.

As she rubbed her stomach protectively, humming a nursery rhyme about the Itsy Bitsy Spider, she started cleaning up the the study and the body in front of her. _Nothing can be out of place tomorrow. Not a thing._ She gave a sigh that was almost happy, but mostly hopeful. _Baby Hugo's life depends on his grandparent's death._ A grin appeared on her face knowing she was going to be free of her captor's clutches. _Yes, I'll no longer have to pretend that_ Scorpius _be your name little one and you'll be surrounded by love instead of fear._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Major Character Death

**Author's Note:**

> Please review :)


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